The Lady Boss and the Silver Fox
by madame.alexandra
Summary: In any universe, Leroy Jethro Gibbs still likes redheads with long legs and boats in the basement. Likewise, Jennifer Shepard still likes high heels and fancy words. I've just thrown a daughter, a little boy, and a tragic past in the AU mix. JIBBS.
1. Prologue

_A/N:_ _I present my first Alternate Universe Jibbs story. What's slightly amusing (to myself, anyway) is that its a type of story I typically can't stand to read. But, when inspiration strikes-you can't shut the door on it._

_What You Need To Know: Kelly was only injured in the car accident; Shannon was killed. For this prologue, that is all that matters._

* * *

The walk through the Dulles International Airport that day was, without a single doubt, the hardest walk he had ever taken.

Every step was heavy, every sound too loud, and in the stifling crowd he thought he was the only one whose entire world had just fallen apart. He still didn't know what he was going to say to Kelly; he couldn't even find the words to comfort himself, much less his eight-year-old.

His head hurt. It had been throbbing since his CO told him. But that, and the brutal shrapnel would in his left shoulder, was hardly anything compared to the emotional pain. It seemed like he had been walking forever, and he just wanted to collapse and never move again, but he had to keep going, even if it meant facing something he wasn't sure he was capable of accepting.

He exited the main gate area and looked ahead of him, keeping his head high, and he saw her before she saw him. In between the crowds, small, her hair tied back in a green ribbon, standing next to Shannon's sister, her innocent blue eyes searching the crowd.

He clutched the strap of his backpack tightly and moved forward, his muscles aching, drawing a deep breath and strength from somewhere—anywhere.

"_Daddy_!"

Her sharp, excited cry reached his ears like a breath of fresh air, warmed his cold skin, and when he saw her pushing through the crowds to get to him, he felt better than he had in days. Leroy Jethro Gibbs dropped to his knees where he was and opened his arms.

Kelly threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and burying her head in his injured shoulder. It didn't matter that it hurt like hell; it just mattered that she was safe. He put one hand on the back of her head, one around her little waist, hugging her close.

"Kelly," he whispered, finally feeling like he could breathe again.

"Daddy, I missed you. I was scared you wouldn't come home!" she whispered, patting his hair sweetly. He squeezed her comfortingly and kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes briefly.

"I promised I'd come back safe, baby," he told her.

Kelly snuggled up to him. She squirmed a little in his grip and pulled back, holding up a few flowers and wrinkling her nose shyly.

"I brought you flowers," she said quietly. He let his hand fall from her hair and took them with a pained smile, touching his knuckles to her cheek.

His fingers ran over healing scars on her cheeks. He was filled with anger and regret at the sight of the bruises and cuts, marks of the accident.

"Your mom's favorite," he said, nodding with approval at the near perfect daisies.

Kelly nodded, happy he had noticed. She knew he would remember. He was the best at remembering Mommy's favorites. He watched as her bright smile faltered a little, though she still tried to look pleasant, and her shoulders slumped a little.

"Mommy's gone," she whispered. He took a steadying breath. The last person he wanted to hear say it was Kelly. She moved closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her again.

"I know," he said softly, tiredly. He tightened his grip and picked Kelly up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder, her fingers slipping inside his collar to find his dog tags.

He trudged through the last few spaces, smattered with oblivious people, to where Kelly's Aunt Sarah was standing, a weak smile on her face. Her arms were folded neatly across her chest, and she looked much like she was about to fall apart.

"How you holdin' up, Sar?" Jethro asked gruffly, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Not as well as she is," Sarah answered fondly, giving Kelly a watery, proud look. "She's like Shannon, I guess."

He just nodded, at a loss for what to say. It was more than real now, Shannon's death, if only because her absence here, when he returned home, was such a gaping hole.

Sarah took a breath and unfolded her hands, flexing her fingers as if she needed something to do.

"Let me take your bag," she said, reaching for the strap.

"I've got it, Sarah," Jethro shrugged her offer off.

She looked at him helplessly; her hand paused in mid air, as if she just wanted him to let her help. He sighed, frustrated, tired, miles away—Kelly reached up and pushed his backpack strap down his shoulder a little.

"You've got her," Sarah said gently, nodding to Kelly as she gently took the backpack. He didn't do a very good job of suppressing the grimace that came from the heavy material scraping over his injury.

"Daddy, the man Uncle Steve talked to on the phone said you got hurt in Kumait," Kelly said, looking up at him solemnly.

"Kuwait, Kelly," he corrected gently. "Nah, it's not bad. Just a flesh wound."

Kelly giggled softly and touched her forehead to his.

"I missed you Daddy," she whispered again, kissing his nose.

Jethro put his hand on her back and cupped her cheek, touching his index finger to her nose like he used to. She smiled and he managed to give her one back.

"Yeah," he murmured, thankful for her. "Missed you too, kiddo."

* * *

He thought the absence of her presence was going to break him. There were so many things he had never paid attention to, had hardly noticed, that she orchestrated that were gone now. The lights in the house were down, no candles were lit, and the sounds of all appliances were silenced.

There was no Shannon singing badly as she cleaned up after dinner, only crushing silence where there had once been her voice helping Kelly to memorize her multiplication tables, and Kelly's footsteps in the hall upstairs as she readied for bed were subdued and slow without Shannon to chase her from the kitchen to her bedroom and tickle her until she squealed with laughter.

The worst of it was, he knew, it crept over him like ice and settled over his heart, that once Kelly was curled up and asleep, there would be no Shannon to lay under the boat and laugh with him or read a book, and there would be no Shannon to press a kiss to his lips and lay her head on his shoulder when he knocked out the lights for bed.

He was sleeping alone tonight, for the next few nights, and for infinitely more after that. Shannon was gone. He would never see her again. And God, he missed her so damn much.

Jethro pressed his hand against his eyes in the chilling dark of the basement, clinging onto memories of her face, of the last time he'd seen her, comforting Kelly as he left for the gulf. He felt like breaking something.

The stairs creaked a little.

"Daddy?" Kelly asked, taking a few tentative steps and peeking through the banister.

"Teeth brushed?" he asked gruffly, subtly drawing his thumbs through his eyes to dry them and looking up at her. He folded his arms. Kelly nodded. She let go of the old banister and came down the stairs, pausing on the landing.

The sight of her in her favorite _Little Mermaid_ pajamas with her hair brushed out neatly reminded him of Shannon. It was soothing in a way. Kelly seemed okay. He couldn't imagine how she could be. She'd lost her mother.

He pushed off the counter he was leaning against and walked towards her. She turned and scampered back up the stairs without a word, and he followed her down the hall to her room, a lump rising in his throat as he passed his and Shannon's.

Kelly climbed into bed and lay down, curling up with a hand under her head. Jethro sat down next to her, pushing her feet over playfully and squeezing her knee. Kelly muffled a giggle in the covers and stuck her tongue out at him.

He looked at her with a sad smile for a minute and reached out to ruffle her hair, brushing it off her face.

"You okay, Kelly?" he asked, his brow furrowing a little.

Kelly nodded, reaching past him to pull a book on her white bedside table towards her.

"Mommy and I were reading this together before," Kelly stopped and her lip shook a little. Gibbs touched her cheek again comfortingly. "Before the car accident. It's called _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_," she looked hesitant as she sat up a little and placed it in his lap. "Can we finish it? I want to know if Aslan helps the Pevensies get the bad witch."

Jethro touched the book, something Shannon had held every night while he'd been away, and looked down at it, casually finding the marked page. He gave Kelly a mock stern look.

"Scooch," he ordered, and she scrambled over, beaming at him. Jethro settled the book on his knees, squinting a little at the small letters, and lifted his arm around Kelly's shoulders as she snuggled into his side.

"I'm really good at reading now," she informed him, taking half of the book in her small hand and resting her head against his shoulder. "_Now we must get back to Edmund. When he had been made to walk far further than he had ever known than anybody could walk, the Witch at last halted in a dark valley…" _

Jethro leaned his head back against her headboard as he listened to her clear, familiar voice reading the fantasy book to him. He just looked at her, as if he might never see her again, so relieved that she was safe and happy—or at the very least safe.

He knew without asking Kelly didn't want to go to sleep. He didn't know if she was scared or sad or angry, but he'd do anything for her at the moment, and when she yawned, her sleepy voice starting to stumble over words, he took the reins, keeping his voice quiet and steady as he read through the next chapter.

"…_if the Professor was right, it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia_," Jethro finished softly; well aware Kelly had fallen fast asleep pages ago.

He shut the book silently and slipped his arms under her, tucking her under her clean and warm sheets carefully. He moved off the bed with as little jolting as possible and reached down to stroke her hair, sighing heavily as he looked at her peaceful, sleeping form.

He felt so alone. He felt like nothing without Shannon. He couldn't braid hair or paint nails. Hell, he wasn't even good at communication.

And now all of it, everything from painted nails to boys to telling her that life sucked sometimes, was up to him.

His eyes were burning relentlessly again as he bent over to kiss her forehead, murmuring 'sleep tight' against her cheek and soundlessly turning off the lamp on her bedside table. He left her door open and the hall night light on as he left, and it bothered him to realize he didn't really know if she still liked it like that.

He'd been away too long.

He hadn't been here when they needed _him_.

Feeling empty, at a loss, and hurting in every way possible, Jethro stretched out on what was once _their_ bed and pulled her pillow towards him, resting his head on it, closing his eyes as he inhaled the fading scent of rose petals and Obsession perfume.

_Shannon. _

He turned his face into the pillow, stricken, as it hit him full force, like a ton of bricks. The loneliness, the sadness, the guilt and anger. He clenched his fists in the pillow and cried for her. His Shannon.

He didn't hear the _thump_, or the footsteps in the hall, until he heard her call his name.

"D—Daddy?"

Her little voice was shaking.

He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, turning his head slightly.

"Yeah?" He asked gruffly, pushing himself up a little more to look at her. "Kelly?" he asked hoarsely, squinting in the dark. "Come here," he ordered, motioning towards him.

She came forward, slowly at first, and then faster as she climbed on the bed and crawled up next to him, kneeling by his stomach.

"What's wrong, honey?" he asked quietly, reaching up to rub his face inconspicuously in the dark.

"I wanted to be brave," she said softly, and he had to strain to hear her, "like you. But," she bowed her head a little and her voice trembled. "I miss Mommy," she whispered, and her words were watery and tearful.

He reached out and pulled Kelly towards him, always loathe to see her cry, no matter what the reason. He knew he couldn't stop these tears. He could try his best to help.

"Ah, Kelly," he murmured, hugging her and kissing the top of her head as she cried, her tears seeping into his shirt and Shannon's pillow. He wondered if Kelly had cried at all since it happened. He could barely recall how long it had been now, between him getting the news and finally arriving stateside.

He tucked his daughter's head under his chin and stroked her hair, staring at the opposite wall.

"I miss mommy, too," he told her hoarsely, trying to find some way to ease the pain.

* * *

_This is a Jibbs-centric story. I tried to go in a direction that hasn't been done before. There will be a few more explanations in the next chapter because that is when they become pertinent.  
-Alexandra_


	2. 1

_A/N: The actual beginning. About fifteen or sixteen years later._

_Points of Reference:_

_Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Not an NCIS agent. Became an MP at Quantico after Shannon's death, then retired from active duty after Levi was born. He works weekly in a Recruit office. Stays at home and helps with Levi. He never married again after Shannon (but did date Ginger, Stephanie, and Diane) instead focusing on raising Kelly. Yes; he still has a boat in the basement. _

_Kelly Gibbs: 23 years old. She has a son, Levi Gibbs, to whom she is a single mother. She has just landed at job at NCIS_

_Jennifer Shepard: "Boss" at NCIS. Essentiall has Gibbs' job. The Grenouille story line is nonexistent. Her father is dead of natural causes, the end. Tony, McGee, Kate, Abby, and Ducky work with her--and now Kelly does. She has the general personality of Gregory House (and I swear that was accidental)._

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs winced as he heard another mysterious thud from the corner of the basement, paused to discern if it was going to continue, and slowly began sanding again when it did not. He peered into the shadowy corners suspiciously. A muffled, childish giggle met his ears and he shook his head with a small smirk, letting it be.

There wasn't much the kid could ruin in this dirty old basement anyway.

He removed the sander from the strong wood for a moment and ran his hand over the rib of the boat, brushing away dust and blowing on it fondly. He was busy attempting to fix the huge nick that had been hacked into it after a certain grandson of his, in a fit of rage, had chucked a Tonka truck at it.

"_Zooooooom_!"

The grandson in question jumped up by the boat, two hot wheels race cars in his hand, and set them down on the wood facing each other, his tongue between his teeth in complete concentration.

Jethro tossed the sander onto the counter and checked his watch; glancing cursorily at the stairs though he'd have heard her if she was home yet. He stepped back and folded his arms, watching closely.

"Vrrrooom. _Zoom_!"

One of the hot wheels rocketed off towards the end of the boat. The little boy who'd pushed it yelled in delight and started to scramble up into the boat, the other car clutched tightly in his small fist.

"Hey, Levi," warned Jethro sternly. "Careful, son."

Levi paused and looked at him, before slowly continuing to scramble into the boat. He crawled towards his other hot wheels car and placed it against one of the ribs of the boat, making it drive over his head, complete with fairly accurate sound effects.

"Boy, if you scratch this boat again…" Jethro warned, narrowing his eyes in mock anger.

Levi giggled and began rolling his other car up the boat as well, turning it into his personal NASCAR battlefield. Jethro smirked and turned around, picking up the sander to place it back on the workbench with his other tools. He took a drink of the bourbon sitting next to Levi's sippy cup of lemonade.

He figured Kelly would be home any time now. He didn't think a job interview seriously took more than two hours at the most, and she'd said to expect her around six. Watching Levi like a hawk, he took a brief second to glance at his watch again.

"Mommy," stated Levi, flipping his wrist over in imitation. He looked at Jethro expectantly.

"Yeah, you'll see Mom in a minute here," he answered, taking another drink.

Levi nodded, stretching out on his stomach and resuming his hot wheels race.

Jethro grinned into his glass of bourbon, amused with the four-year-old's antics. He hadn't spent much time with the kid since Kelly started him in pre-school. She'd been trying to wean him off of her in preparation for when he'd see her less after she started working.

Jethro squinted his eyes; turning his glass in towards his chest and watching the boy play contentedly. He was a good kid; Jethro was proud of Kelly for how well she'd managed to raise him so far. Levi Michael Gibbs hadn't exactly been part of her plan, but after how hard she'd worked and everything she'd sacrificed, Jethro couldn't possibly be disappointed in his daughter.

He had not been particularly thrilled when she came home in tears after almost a year out of the house, attending The University of Virginia, and told him she was pregnant. She had been nineteen, for God's sake. It had been the last thing he'd ever wanted to hear, even more so when he got it out of her that the guy responsible was scum of the earth.

He'd reigned in the anger, though, because she'd been terrified and upset—and people made mistakes.

He wanted her to stay in school, and he by no means disagreed with her decision to keep the baby. Kelly had finished out the semester at Virginia, and on his conditions transferred to George Washington University and moved back home. He had made it clear to her that baby was her responsibility, and when she wasn't in school there would be no partying with her friends. Kelly hadn't argued.

It had been anything but easy for a while.

She had graduated spring this year though, and she was steadily gaining her own ground. She'd proven to him she was the daughter he'd raised, and he'd relaxed his strict conditions a little to let her have a little fun.

Kelly had just grown up too fast after Shannon was killed.

Jethro narrowed his eyes at the sound of a thud and rolled them when he noticed Levi had succeeded in falling off the boat to the concrete floor. Again.

"You okay, bud?" he asked calmly.

"Injured!" replied Levi seriously, scuffing his shoes against the floor as he stood back up patting his head.

"That's what ya get for being a klutz," Jethro informed him seriously.

Levi stuck his tongue out and darted back to his corner, rummaging through the toys Jethro allowed in the basement and picking out a plastic construction hat. He placed it on his head and grinned.

"No injured!" he said matter-of-factly.

"Smart idea, champ," he congratulated.

Levi nodded and hit his hat firmly down on his head, holding his cars as he started to run around in the basement. Jethro raised his eyebrows, not quite sure what Levi felt he was going to accomplish by running in circles. He remembered Kelly at that age. Kids did weird things.

"Hey, you're gonna get dizzy," Jethro warned, "and then you're going to fall."

"_RAWR_!" roared Levi, scampering around the boat and crashing into Jethro's legs.

He wrapped his chubby arms around Jethro's knees and roared into the jeans.

"Di-no-saur!" he shouted.

"Those are extinct, you know."

"RAWR! BIG TEETH!"

Jethro snorted and set his glass down so he wouldn't spill it.

"I EAT YOU!" insisted Levi, sinking his teeth into Jethro's knee.

"Dammit," swore Jethro, reaching down and snatching Levi's arm. "Son, what did we say about biting?" he asked, glaring down at the kid as he pulled him away from his legs.

Levi looked up at him and blinked, put out his playing had been interrupted. His lip trembled a little and then he looked angry. He tried to escape.

"Levi. What did we say about biting?"

"No biting," Levi muttered, his lips poking out in a pout. "Imma dinosaur! Dinosaurs bite!"

Jethro rolled his eyes.

"Not the leaf eating ones," he said sternly. "If you bite someone again, I'll wear you out."

Levi chomped his teeth up and down and lunged forward.

"Rawr!"

"So help me…," Jethro pulled him backwards and crouched down, giving him a good look in the eye, "You won't sit down for days, punk," he informed his grandson seriously.

Lights flooded the basement and Levi and Jethro both winced and blinked.

"Dad, I don't spank him," Kelly's voice reached his ears, followed by her footsteps on the basement stairs, indulgent and reprimanding at the same time.

"Your mom doesn't spank you, huh?" Jethro asked, still glaring at Levi. He squinted menacingly and whispered: "Do I look like Mom?"

Levi giggled and squirmed away from Jethro, running to throw himself at Kelly's legs as she reached the basement floor.

Kelly reached down and scooped him up, bright smile lighting up her face. She hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead lovingly.

"It's good to see you little man!" she crooned, ruffling his hair.

Jethro straightened up and leaned back smiling.

"What did you and the old man do today?" Kelly asked, shooting Jethro an amused look.

"Granpa said a bad word," Levi informed her solemnly.

"You," Jethro said, pointing a finger at Levi, "are definitely getting spanked."

"Dad, how many times do I need to ask you to watch your language around the toddler?" Kelly asked indulgently, rolling her eyes as she came further into the basement.

Jethro huffed at her and threw his hands up.

"You won't let me curse, you won't let me spank him, how is he going to learn?" he asked sarcastically.

"You never spanked me," Kelly reminded him with a shrug.

"Well, no, you're a girl."

Kelly rolled her eyes with a laugh and leaned forward to let her squirming son back to the floor.

"Chauvinist," she murmured.

"Sorry, couldn't hear you Kel, getting hard of hearing. What was that?" Jethro asked loudly, glaring at her.

"Nothing, Daddy," she answered sweetly, giving him a sly smile as she kissed his cheek. "How was he, really?" she asked, turning and leaning against the counter with him.

"He only bit me three times."

"Stop whining, Dad."

"Fine. He was perfect. God would be jealous of the perfection of your son."

Kelly burst out laughing and lunged past her father to take his half-empty glass of bourbon.

"It seems you found a way to ease the pain of his killer teeth," she noted solemnly, giving him a knowing look as she took a sip.

Kelly made a face and shuddered.

"Bleh."

"More for me," he took it from her.

Kelly smiled and folded her arms, tilting her head to watch as Levi crept around the boat with his cars, looking for new places to race them. He knocked his head against the wood, shook it off, and kept going, drawing a giggle from Kelly.

Jethro studied her carefully, unsure if she wanted him to ask about her interview. She seemed happy, calm, but she always looked like that around Levi. Knowing Kelly as he did, if things had not gone well, she would have been more distracted, less teasing.

He noticed she was smirking slightly and rolled his eyes. She wanted to be asked how things went.

"Hey, Kelly," he asked in mock seriousness. "Didn't you have an interview today?"

She laughed, glancing at him sideways.

"Hmm. I wonder how that went."

Kelly bit her lip, obviously holding back a smile, and nodded slowly.

"I guess you're about to tell me your hard work paid off," Jethro muttered.

Kelly grinned.

"I start Monday," she said modestly.

Jethro turned and looked at her, his eyes searching. He was happy for her, and he was proud of her, yet her worried she didn't know what she was getting into. This job would no doubt prove to be demanding, and at times dangerous.

"You're sure about this, Kelly?" he asked.

She nodded firmly, confidence in her eyes.

"I think I've always been sure. Things just got a little chaotic after," she nodded her head fondly at Levi, "that lil' guy. Law school isn't really an option now that I've got him, and my heart is not in it anymore. I've got a good feeling about working with these people."

She looked at Levi as if seeing something else for a moment, and her voice lowered nostalgically.

"I guess I've had a soft spot for the agency since that grumpy Agent Franks let me hang around before you got home, back after that…mess." Kelly nodded as if to herself. "NCIS got Mom justice."

Jethro looked at her and then down at his glass of bourbon, swirling the liquid silently. Kelly had really liked that one NCIS agent when she was little, the man who'd been on Shannon's case.

Kelly snorted.

"God, I wonder what Franks would think of NCIS now," she mused.

"He not there anymore?" Jethro asked. She shrugged.

"I asked. The Director said he quit, years ago. Didn't like the changes I bet. The man was old fashioned to the core. He gave me a plastic badge and told me I was one lucky little girl because NCIs didn't let girls in," she snorted, amused with the memories.

Levi crashed into Jethro's workbench and sent tools flying. Jethro hung his head with a defeated groan. That was the third time today.

"Oh, Levi," sighed Kelly, jumping to him and hoisting him up.

"Hey, are you hungry? Mom's hungry. What do you want to eat?"

"Dinosaur! ROAR!" replied Levi, chomping his teeth benignly. "Levisauraus hungry!"

"Oh yeah? What does Levisauraus eah, huh?" Kelly asked, heading up the stairs.

"Mashed tatoes!" Levi responded excitedly. "Cookies!"

Kelly laughed and chomped her teeth back at him.

"Really? I thought they ate carrots and peas…"

Jethro smirked as he trudged to the demolished workbench, listening to Levi's protests and cries of 'icky'. He heard a creak as Kelly paused on the stairs and looked down at him, her eyebrow arched.

"I'm fairly sure old Mike Franks would flip his lid if he knew about NCIS' _changes_."

"Why's that?" Jethro asked absently, picking up screwdrivers and wrenches alike.

"My boss is a woman," Kelly responded with an ironic laugh, taking the rest of the stairs with her rambunctious son.

Jethro paused and looked up the stairs after her with the sander in his hand. He shook his head slowly and went back to picking up tools, placing them back in their original organized mess on the workbench.

Placing his hand on the counter to get himself off his knees, Jethro picked up Levi's sippy cup and took the stairs at a sprint to get to the kitchen. Kelly was messing with the stove, and Levi was sitting at the table, peeking over the edge and giving them his own version of a smirk.

"Gunny!" he shouted, pointing his plastic fork at Jethro.

"Attention, sailor," Jethro replied, and Levi giggled as he saluted Jethro, reaching with his other hand for the sippy cup. Jethro placed it in front of him with a bang and Levi squealed, snatching it.

"As you were," Jethro nodded and Levi started to drink, falling silent for a change.

Jethro moseyed into the kitchen and snooped in the items Kelly had out for dinner, getting in her way enough so that she rolled her eyes and shoved him backwards. He put his hands back against the counter and leaned, watching Levi closely.

"Your boss is a woman," he stated, prying for information. Sometimes getting Kelly to talk was like squeezing water from a rock.

Kelly nodded, fiddling with a can opener.

"And another agent on the team," she said.

"You joined NCIS to work with a bunch of women?" asked Jethro, and she shot him a look.

"Never fear, Daddy, there are men on the team too. I'm sure they'll be there to rescue us when the bad guys come along."

Jethro glared at his errant child.

"Smart-ass," he accused.

"It's an inherited trait, you know," she retorted, pouring green beans into a pot. "Levi Michael, do _not_ throw that fork across the room," Kelly ordered suddenly, without even looking at the kid.

Levi paused mid-chuck and slowly put down his fork. He raised his arm with the sippy-cup in it…

"Don't throw the sippy-cup either," she warned, "or I _will_ let Granpa spank you with this spatula."

Jethro gave the kid a fierce look just to reinforce this statement. He gave Kelly an impressed look for developing the parental necessity of eyes in the back and on the sides of her head.

"Not bad," he complimented.

"Sorry I can't stop him from kicking that chair over," she answered in a mumble, and winced as a dining room chair crashed to the ground.

Jethro snorted. Levi laughed, and took a long drink of his lemonade, no doubt pleased with his feat. Jethro looked at Kelly in silence, marched over to the fridge, and retrieved a beer, returning to his spot purposefully.

"You gonna tell me about this job," he asked slowly, popping the cap, "or am I supposed to guess?"

"You're supposed to guess," she answered seriously.

"Kelly."

She grinned.

"You're beating around the bush," he growled.

"Actually, I'm stirring the green beans," she answered. She looked up at him and he glared. Kelly laughed.

"Ah, there isn't much to tell yet. The interview wasn't so much an interview as it was an orientation. My FLET-C records were top rank, and I'd spoken with the Director before, so it was just made…official."

"What are you going to be doing?" Jethro asked, taking a swig of his beer.

Kelly reached forward and turned the boiler down a little.

"Investigative work. I'll begin as a probationary field," she noticed he was looking at her blankly and readjusted her language, "er, like a recruit. My boss is my drill sergeant, the team my 'unit'. Police work."

Jethro nodded curtly. Kelly began making noodles for Levi and continued talking calmly.

"I met the team I'll be working with; they seem decent," she smirked. "Good news; neither of the men are lumberjacks," she quipped.

Jethro allowed her a small smile, thinking of Shannon. That would make her happy.

"Your boss know you've got a toddler at home?"

Kelly nodded.

"I got the impression she knows _everything_."

Jethro huffed. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. Mike Franks probably had good reason for not wanting women at NCIS.

"You like her, Kelly?" he asked.

"Like her?" Kelly repeated, she blew stray hairs out of her face and turned off the green beans' boiler. "Hell, I _love_ her."

"You just met her," Jethro pointed out, rolling his eyes. She shook her head, giving him a look.

"Call it a gut feeling. The woman damn near runs the place. She eats those men for breakfast—she's funny, too. Not bad lookin' either," Kelly added, throwing Jethro a suggestive look. "Levi, sit down," she ordered, glaring at him as he stood in his chair and bounced up and down.

"Supper ready yet?" he asked, stomping his foot.

"Five minutes, kiddo," she said, "and a silent five minutes or you're only getting _greeeeeens_," she threatened. Levi zipped his lips and plopped down.

She resumed her conversation, lifting an eyebrow archly at Jethro.

"I would've invited her for dinner sometime, but I'm too nice to throw her to the wolves," she said.

"I don't bite, Kelly," Jethro said, rolling his eyes. He managed to look appropriately offended.

"No, no," Kelly soothed, shaking her head. She pulled a paper plate out for Levi. "It's not biting I was worried about. Unless you're into that," she added thoughtfully.

Jethro looked at her suspiciously and Kelly snorted.

"Redhead," she clarified, and Jethro just narrowed his eyes at her more. He didn't like his own daughter teasing him about his dating preferences—fetishes, as she liked to call them. "Not just the _redhead _part, either," she mused, filling Levi's plate. "Tony claims she's untouchable. Naturally, that puts her in danger if she's in your presence."

"Tony?" growled Jethro.

"Tony DiNozzo, her partner, team member. He's the only one who calls her 'Red' and still has his balls the next day."

"Kelly!" shouted Jethro, looking pained. Hearing his daughter refer to any part of the male anatomy hurt his head.

"Sorry," she muttered insincerely. "Take that to Champ over there," she said, handing Jethro Levi's plate.

Jethro obeyed, scowling, and set the plate of noodles, green beans, and the chicken he'd had in the oven for a few hours in front of the boy. Levi roared at his food and began to eat it like a dinosaur, half with his fork, and half with his hands.

"_Gross_, Levi," Kelly informed her son, giving him a stern look.

Levi ignored her and munched happily on his food.

"Here, Daddy," she said, stretching over the counter and handing him a plate. He took it, sat down next to DinoBoy, and watched Kelly as she followed suit, setting a glass of water by her plate.

"So does red-haired dragon lady have a name?" Jethro asked gruffly, taking a bite of chicken.

Kelly laughed and shook her head at him hopelessly.

"Jesus, Dad, don't ever let her hear _that_," she warned good-naturedly. "Jennifer Shepard," she relented, reaching over to stop Levi from throwing food across the table to get their attention. "Levi! Eat your food!"

Jethro chewed silently and watched his daughter and his grandson interact, arguing playfully, laughing, enjoying the family dinner. It was a different kind of family than he'd expected to have at this point in his life, but he loved them more than anything.

It had not been easy after Shannon's murder. Kelly had missed her, he had missed her, and it had taken a long time to get through it. He and Kelly had been close though, something he was eternally thankful for. Due to his status as a single parent, he'd stayed on duty at Quantico, training recruits for a few years before he worked Military Police. He'd retired a few months after Levi was born.

"Mommy, I'm done."

"Not until you eat those green beans you're not," Kelly replied.

Jethro nodded sternly. He had taught her well. He was pleasantly surprised that Kelly was so good about disciplining Levi. He'd expected her, at her young age, to be a little free spirited in raising him. He had been reluctant to step on her toes by giving her advice, so he was glad she seemed to be very smart about how to take care of him.

He'd mentioned it to her once, when Levi was being particularly stubborn and Kelly, even at her wits end, hadn't taken any bull from him. Kelly had stopped what she was doing and simply told him she was raising Levi to make her mother proud.

It meant a lot to him.

"LEVI MICHAEL GIBBS! Stop putting those on your grandfather's plate!" snapped Kelly, snatching the boy's fork away.

Jethro looked down to find half Levi's green beans on his plate and smirked. He knew he liked this kid for a reason. He leaned back in his chair, watching Kelly struggle to make Levi sit still and finish his food. She blew a raspberry on his forehead and he giggled, letting her force his fork back into his hand.

He'd gotten use to how much Kelly looked like Shannon by the time she was twenty-one, but it never failed to stop his breath sometimes. He didn't know if Kelly had time to miss her mom anymore; he thought she might have gotten through it years ago, but there were times—mostly at night—when he missed Shannon so much it hurt to think about it.

He hadn't even thought about dating for the first year, and not much after that—not while Kelly was young. He'd focused on her and keeping Shannon's memory alive for her, and when he had started to date, he'd found it almost stifling.

There were a few women he liked, some he even more than liked, but they all wanted different things from him. And the few who knew what had happened all those years ago wanted to replace Shannon and give Kelly a new mom.

He wanted none of that.

"No more," Levi said, putting his fork down.

Kelly looked at his plate and sighed. She shook her head and dumped him out of his chair, giving him a good glare.

"Fine, Levi, all done," she said, and wagged a finger at him; "Mommy and Granpa are not finished. Go play in your room."

"Pick your battles, huh?" Jethro asked, gesturing at the uneaten green beans.

She shrugged.

"If he doesn't _like_ them…" she justified, chewing her own food thoughtfully. "He'll just eat twice as many carrots tomorrow."

Jethro nodded, smiling. Poor Levi. He hated carrots more than he disliked green beans.

"How is this going to work, Kel?" Jethro asked.

Kelly looked up at him, washed her mouthful down with a drink.

"I'll take Levi to preschool on my way to NCIS in the mornings," she started, and hesitated a little. "I don't get off of work until seven, so would you mind—?"

Jethro nodded curtly.

"Pick him up at two, right?"

"Three," Kelly corrected. "He does the after-class reading program," she said.

Jethro rolled his eyes. Kelly and her books.

"He likes reading when he settles down," Kelly defended. "And you know what books are in the curriculum?"

Jethro waited indulgently to be told which books.

"_The Chronicles of Narnia_," Kelly informed him fondly.

Jethro smiled

"Your favorite," he said gruffly.

He wasn't sure anymore how many times he and Kelly had read _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_. Enough so that Kelly had dragged him to the premiere of the movie a while ago.

"I just can't wait until he's old enough for Harry Potter," Kelly said, standing up with her plate. She took Jethro's as well and dumped them in the kitchen, reminding both of them why paper plates were such a favorite in this household—no dishes.

"BOOM!" yelled Levi from down the hall. Kelly grinned.

"Hey, kid, what's exploding in there?" she yelled curiously. She was met with silence and then Levi came running in and threw a handful of Legos all over the floor jumping on them excitedly.

"Bye bye boat! Bye bye!" he cackled, kicking a Lego at the couch.

Jethro frowned while Kelly burst into laughter. She turned on the faucet to wash her hands.

"That punk has it in for my boat!"

"Oh, Daddy, don't take it so personally," Kelly soothed, "Maybe he's talking about—"

"_Titanic_ sink, Mommy! Iceberg make it go boom!"

"Err, the _Titanic_."

Jethro looked at Kelly in shock.

"You let him watch _Titanic_?!"

Kelly had the grace to look embarrassed.

"I fell asleep watching it and he came in. I didn't think it would stick."

"Kelly, there's a naked lady in that movie."

"How do you know, you don't watch movies," Kelly retorted, drying her hands.

Levi yelled in delight and began building something else with his Legos, plopping down on the floor. Kelly watched him for a moment and then pointed at Jethro suddenly, a suspicious look on her face.

"Kate Winslet is a redhead!" she said in shock.

"_What_ is a Kate Winslet?" asked Jethro.

"The naked lady in _Titanic_. Which I now think you watched because you're not getting any and—"

"I am done having this conversation. Right now," Jethro growled, turning and stalking away. He ruffled Levi's hair as he passed, and muttered under his breath as he heard Kelly laughing at him from behind.

He really didn't know what a Kate Winslet was. He just knew _Titanic_ wasn't for kids. He'd taken a date to see it.

It started to rain later, when he was back at the boat again, convinced he'd finally managed to smooth out Levi's nick. He heard Kelly stomping around upstairs growling as she chased Levi to bed, and it reminded him of the way Shannon had chased her down the hall when she was tiny.

He worked on the boat.

He thought of Shannon. She would adore Levi. Levi might not be around if Shannon had been there to give Kelly that particular _talk, _but sometimes he just wondered. He thought of all that Shannon had missed. Kelly's first date (the worst day of his life), Kelly graduating salutatorian, Kelly punching that kid who said he hated the military…

Jethro smiled to himself. They had had good years. He just wished Shannon could have been a part of them.

"Daddy, did I embarrass you?" Kelly arched an eyebrow at him leaning on the banister with her chin on her arms and smirking.

He gave her a mock scowl and sanded the boat, turning a cold shoulder to her. She laughed softly and tilted her head, watching him work.

"You know it's taken you sixteen years to sand that boat," she said quietly.

He grunted at her. He hadn't been able to work on it for months after he lost Shannon, until Kelly woke him up in the middle of the night when she was nine determinedly sanding one part she could reach. It had been slow, therapeutic work since then.

It was one of the last things Shannon had touched, that he had shared with her. He wasn't sure he wanted to end it.

"I figure when you finish it, you'll die," she joked solemnly.

"You don't get the house in the will," he responded, deadpan.

Kelly laughed. She lifted her head and leaned forward a little more, wrapped in a long sweater. Her feet were encased in slippers, he noticed, and he smirked. She'd stopped complaining about how cold he kept the house years ago.

"Wanna come watch Conan with me?"

Jethro made a face.

"The creepy orange haired bastard?"

"Good god, Dad," Kelly rolled her eyes. She tilted her head. "I'll tell you more about my foxy red-haired boss," she bribed, snickering.

Jethro grumbled under his breath as he paused with the sander and looked at her. He supposed he'd be seeing less of his daughter once she started this new job, and even less when she was standing strong enough to move out, so he began to trudge towards the stairs to spend time with her.

She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"So, I have got you interested in _Miss_ Jennifer Shepard…" she teased.

Jethro just shouldered her and rolled his eyes.

He wasn't going to deny a slight interest, if only because it wasn't often Kelly was so taken with someone on a first impression.

* * *

_Jenny makes a grand entrance in the next chapter.  
-Alexandra_


	3. 2

_A/N: This seems to be going over quite well; i thank you*blushes*. Enter: Jenny!_

* * *

"Levi," Leroy Jethro Gibbs called suspiciously, concerned that it had suddenly gone quiet in the house where a moment ago a four-year-old had been shouting the lyrics to one of those kiddy show theme songs.

Slowly, Jethro backed out of the kitchen, listening for noise.

He heard a soft giggle, and the child in question leapt out from around the corner at his feet, hugging him around the legs.

"Boo!"

Jethro reached down and ruffled the kid's hair with a smile.

"You keep doing that and I'm gonna have a heart attack," he warned, giving Levi a mock glare. "I'll just fall over and die."

Levi gasped and looked up at Jethro.

"I'm sorry I scared you!" he said, patting Jethro's leg apologetically.

"You don't have to apologize, Levi," Kelly said, rolling her eyes as she came into the kitchen. "Grandpa is lying to you again."

"His heart might attack him!" Levi informed her, and Kelly rolled her eyes and playfully scooped him up like a baby.

"No it won't, know why?"

Levi shook his head.

"Gunny lived through the extinction of the dinosaurs," she whispered.

Levi's eyes widened and he gasped. He scrambled up and peeked over Kelly's shoulder and bared his little teeth.

"Rawr, dinosaur!" he said.

Jethro growled back at him and leapt forward.

Levi shrieked and hid behind Kelly.

"Oh, you're killin' me, punk," Kelly groaned, letting him slide down out of her arms as she came to lean against the bar in the kitchen next to where she'd placed her purse.

Levi's feet thundered as he ran off down the hall.

"What are you making?" Kelly asked, craning her neck into the kitchen.

"Popcorn."

"Dad, he had cake and soda at that party," Kelly reprimanded.

Levi had been at a friend from preschool's birthday party for three hours with Kelly; she had left work early to take him.

"Who said the popcorn is for him?" Jethro retorted.

"You're such a contradiction," Kelly informed him. "You sure it's okay if I go out?"

Jethro shrugged, watching the timer on the microwave.

"Nothing wrong with having fun, Kelly."

"I know," she said softly. "It might be hard to get him in bed by ten but its Friday, so I guess it doesn't matter," she said, giving him a stern look, "as long as I don't come home to him running around with those plastic weapons again, war paint on, all riled up at midnight."

Jethro mimicked her.

"Sometimes I feel like you're the child in this relationship," she accused with a laugh.

"Get out of here," Jethro responded, getting a popcorn bowl out of the cabinet. "Levi and I want our man time."

"Oh, your _man_ time," Kelly scoffed, picking up her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. She pushed a handful of her long, auburn hair out of her face and smiling. "Right. No strippers," she told him.

He glared at her, pouring popcorn into a bowl. Kelly laughed and lunged forward across the bar to kiss his check.

"Bye, Daddy."

"Bye," he said. He almost, just out of old habit, told her to be home by eleven and call if she was going to be late. Then he remembered Kelly was twenty-three, and she'd hardly obeyed that rule at seventeen. He settled for:

"Take care of yourself."

"Yeah."

"Levi, come say bye-bye to Mommy," Jethro yelled.

The thundering footsteps came again, and Levi re-appeared, carrying his stuffed _Tyrannosaurus_ _rex_ and launching himself at Kelly. She bent down and gave her footy-pajama clad son a hug and kissed him loudly.

"Be good for Granpa," she ordered.

"No!" he said with a giggle.

"No? No?" she repeated, glaring at him. "Don't tell me _no_!" She tickled him and then kissed his head again, standing up.

"I think we're in the stage where 'no' means yes," she whispered conspiratorially.

Jethro snorted.

"Wishful thinking on your part, honey," he informed her.

She shrugged good-naturedly and started past him. Jethro watched Levi watch Kelly go and wondered if there would be tears this time. He wasn't too clingy unless he was in a bad mood, but he seemed okay. The cake and piñatas probably had something to do with that.

"Hey, Kel, who are you going out with again?" he asked, walking back into the kitchen to pick up the bowl of popcorn.

"Girl from work," she called back, and he heard the front door opening. "Kate Todd."

He was tempted to tell her to be safe again, but she'd shut the door before he could get the words out, probably to cut off what she knew was coming. He grumbled to himself and walked over to Levi, holding the bowl of popcorn up.

They looked at each other for a minute.

Levi held up his stuffed dinosaur and dropped its nose into the bowl of popcorn, flipping it out of Jethro's hands and all over the floor. He shrieked with laugher and pointed.

"Ooops! Messy!" he informed Jethro.

"Guess who gets to clean that up?" Jethro growled.

"Mommy," Levi answered smartly.

Jethro smirked.

"Knew you were a smart kid," he complimented, lowering his voice.

"Mom's gone. Let's play _Cops and Robbers_."

"BANG! BANG!" yelled Levi excitedly, abandoning his dinosaur and charging out of the room to find his plastic badge and sheriff's hat.

Jethro followed him down the hall, leaving the popcorn mess to clean up later. He wondered if Levi understood that his _mom_ was a cop now, if a Navy cop.

He hid behind a door in the hall and waited for Levi to come thundering in with his toy gun and shoot him.

* * *

Jethro felt very proud of himself as he collapsed on the couch with a plastic sword, watching Levi march around with an American flag, wearing an army hard hat now, and screaming the words to the Marine Corp hymn for the tenth time tonight.

Yes, he felt like he'd accomplished something.

He had managed to entertain Levi for two hours now without tears, (major) messes, or breaking anything, and he'd taught him the Marine Corp hymn. Contrary to Kelly's wishes, Levi did indeed have war paint on his face.

Jethro checked his watch as he chucked the sword to the floor and watched Levi. It was nearing ten o'clock now, and he was ready to put the kid to bed. He should be relatively tired at this point, after running around at preschool, a birthday party, and here for the past two hours.

"Levi," said Jethro.

"IN THE LAND, ON SEA AND IN LAND," screamed Levi, getting the words wrong and ignoring the tune. Jethro snorted and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"AT EASE, MARINE!" he shouted and Levi jumped, surprised by the yelling.

He dropped his American flag and darted across the living room to the couch, leaning against it and smiling adorably at Jethro. The hard hat fell over his eyes a little and Jethro flicked it upwards, giving Levi a serious look.

"It's time for bed."

Levi scowled at Jethro.

"Not sleepy," he said, starting to turn and run away. Jethro grabbed him around the waist and dragged him onto the couch with him, holding him so he couldn't escape.

"Are too," he said.

"Am not!" Levi insisted, squirming to get away. He shoved his little feet into Jethro's side and growled, trying to sound mean as he tried to escape the grip.

"Huh," Jethro mused. "I thought you were a big kid."

"I am big!" Levi protested, hitting Jethro's arm to try and force release.

"Big kids go to bed at ten," Jethro informed him solemnly, and buried his face in the couch pillows. He snored loudly a few times to make a point.

Levi stopped struggling and crawled up on his back, sitting behind his shoulders. He patted Jethro's head and frowned to himself. If big kids went to bed at ten, why did Mommy and Granpa stay up so late?

"Wake up," Levi ordered, pulling Jethro's short, silver hair. "Gunny! Attention!" he yelled.

Jethro bolted up and dumped Levi unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Aye aye," he said seriously, reaching down to sweep Levi up and carry him upside down into the hall.

Levi shrieked with laugher and put his hands out, attempting to touch the floor. Jethro pretended to drop him and he squealed, squirming.

"No bed! No night-night!" Levi cried, as Jethro grabbed him up, cradled him like a baby, and burst into the bedroom decorated with Spider-man and Star Wars merchandise.

He made a crashing noise and collapsed with Levi onto the rocket-ship shaped bed, trapping him underneath him and pretending to be unable to move. Levi pressed his knees against Jethro's chest, laughing, trying to escape.

"Granpa!" he yelled. "Help! Mommy!"

"Mom's not here to save you!" growled Jethro, leaning back onto his knees and attacking Levi's covered feet. Levi kicked and wriggled as he was tickled, laughing hysterically. He stopped when he thought Levi was turning blue and sat back, pretending to be out of breath.

"I'm too old for this, Champ," he sighed dramatically. Levi tilted his head, looked up at him, and giggled, rolling over and starting to crawl towards the edge of the bed.

"Nuh-uh," rebuked Jethro, lunging to grab him. Levi growled at him. The kid really did think he was a dinosaur or something scary. "Bed," Jethro said sternly, plopping Levi down in the center of the rocket-ship.

Levi glared at him. Jethro glared back.

Levi screamed at him and covered his face. Jethro smirked.

"I win," he said, and pulled the boy's hands down. He put his face close to Levi's and Levi's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Brush your teeth," he ordered, and Levi scampered out of the room to the bathroom.

He made sure he heard water running before he got off the bed and pulled Levi's covers back, throwing the stuffed Wookie and stuffed Yoda he usually slept with in amongst the pillows decorated with the Millennium Falcon. He checked to make sure the Spider-man night light was plugged in and working, and waited for Levi to return.

Levi came waltzing in with a toothbrush in his mouth, singing the hymn through it, spraying foamy toothpaste everywhere.

"Boy, get your butt back in the bathroom," ordered Jethro, pointing sharply and approaching. Levi turned and darted back down the hall. Jethro followed suspiciously, hovering in the doorway as Levi took another five minutes to basically chew on his tooth paste.

Jethro rolled his eyes.

"You're stalling, kid," he said, picking him up and placing him on his stool. He turned on the faucet. "Spit and rinse," he ordered pointing. Levi spit his toothbrush and his mouthful into the sink and grinned at the mirror.

"Are you four or two?" Jethro growled, rinsing off the brush as Levi bounced on the stool, apparently eager to fall off of it. This was exactly what happened.

"Watch—" Jethro started, but Levi and the stool had toppled over and crashed to the floor. Levi cracked his head against the toilet and sat there in shock for a minute. Jethro winced. The tears started.

"Smart move," he muttered, crouching down, "Guess you won't pull that stunt again, huh, punk?" he asked sternly, holding out his arms. Levi walked slowly into them, holding his head and crying.

Jethro picked him up with a sigh and flicked off the bathroom light.

"We were havin' a good night," he muttered, putting his hand on Levi's head and shushing him softly. He knew Levi was probably just over tired by now. He'd had a lot of caffeine and sweets today he probably should have been cut off from.

"You okay?" Jethro asked, sitting down on the bed again with Levi in his lap.

"I want Mommy," Levi informed him tearfully.

"Mommy's gone missing. Why don't you go to sleep while I look for her?" Jethro asked seriously.

Levi started crying harder. Jethro rubbed the sore spot on his head and gave his grandson a hug, kissing the top of his head.

"Yeah, yeah, Moms are magic hurt healers," he grumbled, turning and prying Levi off of him.

Levi sniffled and patted his head tenderly, looking at Jethro like it was his fault. He pouted, looking fairly pitiful.

"Faster you go to sleep, faster Mommy will be home," Jethro informed him, well aware once Levi was out he'd sleep through the night, and Kelly would be there in the morning. Levi seemed to consider Jethro's suggestion and then flopped back, curling up. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and snatched his Wookie towards him.

Jethro stood up and threw the covers over him.

"Sleep tight," he said.

"No bed bugs bite," Levi replied, sniffing again.

"No bed bugs," Jethro agreed seriously, "Don't worry about them. Marines are poison to bed bugs."

Levi giggled and snuggled into his covers, closing his eyes obediently. Sometimes he was the easiest kid to please. Jethro left the room, turning the light off but leaving the door open.

Quietly, he went about cleaning up some of the mess they'd made, kicking himself when he realized he'd have to explain to Kelly why her son woke her up tomorrow with Indian stripes on his cheeks. Jethro threw the Legos into a bucket with Levi's building blocks and shoved toy swords and guns into a messily organized pile somewhat out of the way.

Then he dragged his feet over to the popcorn, grumbling about the mess, bribing himself with working on the boat once he was finished cleaning it up.

He dumped the popcorn in the trash and left the bowl in the sink, happily making his way down to the dusty darkness of his basement for some quality boat time. He was hoping Kelly would come home after Levi had a chance to get good and asleep, or they'd never get him to bed at a decent hour.

Jethro plucked the sander out of his tool box and carried it over to the counter, setting it next to him while he opened the drawer that held his bourbon, old Military Police handgun, and now Kelly's NCIS issue Sig Sauer.

He gave her gun a stern, fatherly look as he pulled out the Jack Daniels and kneed the drawer shut, muttering to himself darkly. It was perturbing to think about Little Kelly packing heat when his favorite memories included her making him attend Barbie weddings or begging him to rescue her from a "magical" tower.

He couldn't imagine Kelly firing a weapon, much less killing anyone. It irked him that she might have to. He wasn't sure she'd really thought about it, or understood what she'd have to face when she took a life. Jethro gave the drawer holding her Sig a scowl as he poured himself a generous measure of bourbon and slid the sander over his knuckles, turning towards the boat.

Kelly seemed to enjoy NCIS. She had been there a few weeks now, and apart from being gone almost three days straight during a case—which she'd come home after exhausted and highly irritable—she was balancing Levi and the job fine.

She wasn't too forthcoming with information about it. He knew who she worked with, their names, and he knew that she still liked her boss, but she didn't talk about the cases—then, that might be because she hadn't been involved in many.

She said they teased her, called her 'Probie', but she was amused by it. She had also, she'd told him quietly a few nights ago, managed to wrangle some contact information for Mike Franks and send him a note. She said he'd be pleased to know Levi's middle name was in honor of him.

Jethro picked up his mason jar from the boat and took a drink, taking a minute to lean against a rib of the boat. As he was standing there, contemplating whether or not Kelly had inherited his ability to make a damn good shot, he heard a miniscule, soft noise upstairs; a noise that anyone who wasn't a marine would never have caught.

He knew it wasn't Kelly immediately; she knew better than to sneak around in his presence.

Remaining still, he glared at the doorway at the top of his stairs, listening alertly. It wasn't Levi out of bed either; he'd be way louder. Jethro took a suspicious sip of his bourbon and set it down soundlessly. He didn't feel threatened, particularly not as the footsteps approached the basement.

"Kelly Roseanne Gibbs, your probie ass is mine when I get a hold of you," he heard growled from the main floor of his house and raised an eyebrow. A rather petite, curvy shadow fell across the landing at the top of the stairs.

"Not if I shoot you first," Jethro said mildly, getting a fair idea of who this was.

A small motion gave away that he'd startled her.

"Fire away," she replied after a silent moment. "You want to explain the tragical untimely murder of a federal agent?"

"You want to explain what you're doing in my house?" he fired back, slowly straightening up and peering into the darkness.

He heard a quiet snort of laughter. She pushed off the doorframe and rested a fair hand on the banister, starting to come down the stairs. He heard the first click of a high heel and saw it coming before it happened.

Following a surprised gasp and a violent curse, a woman fell down his basement stairs. Jethro smirked and dropped the sander, casually making his way over. A female hadn't fallen down those stairs since he and Shannon bought the house—most refused to attempt them.

Jethro hopped up on the landing and leaned forward, one hand on his thigh, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her, sprawled on the penultimate two steps, gripping a rail of the banister. She blew hair out of her face nonchalantly.

"You're supposed to walk down them," he informed her.

"Jesus Christ, you're kidding?" she retorted in mock surprise, "And all these years I've just been _throwing_ myself down them," she was sarcastic, flippant.

He smirked and extended his hand. She gave it an amused look and placed a manicured hand in it, standing up gracefully from her slump. She squeezed his hand and he met her eyes, a pair of startlingly green, sharp, emeralds. They were inexplicably arresting.

She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What do you know," she sighed dramatically. "A gentleman."

She drew her hand out of his and tilted her head, her lips pursed. He shrugged and left the stairwell, returning to the boat as he listened to her slow exit from it herself. The long, thick red hair he'd noticed confirmed his initial suspicions.

This was the infamous Jennifer Shepard.

"You wouldn't happen to be _Daddy_?" she drawled slowly, her confident voice mimicking Kelly's intonation perfectly. "Gunnery Sergeant LeroyJethro?" she blended his name together, rolled it on her tongue, and snickered.

He leaned against the boat, picked up his mason jar, and looked her in the eye.

"Guilty," he agreed mildly.

"Mmmm," murmured she. "You happen to know where your errant offspring is, LeroyJethro?"

He shrugged.

"Out."

She wrinkled her nose with a light sneer.

"Cute," she complimented. "I'm appropriately tempted to ask where, though that might end our stimulating conversation. Better question: Why the hell is there a boat in your basement?"

Jethro allowed the corner of his mouth to turn up in a slight smile of amusement.

"Hobby," he gave her flippantly.

"Or obsession?" she countered, her eyes sparkling a little. "Didn't quite believe little Jarhead when she told us about the boat," she smirked and approached it like a curious cat, her eyes roaming over the ribs. "Are all her stories true, I wonder?"

The woman peered around the boat at him, resting a palm on it confidently and leaning into it somewhat provocatively. She grinned. Jethro took a slow drink of his bourbon, his interest captured by the stranger in his basement. She didn't seem daunted by his typical cold, characteristically unwelcoming demeanor; rather provoked instead.

She cocked her head, and the attractiveness of the angle didn't escape his seasoned notice.

"The infamous LeroyJethro Gibbs," she mused, and he was acutely aware Kelly would have talked about him. Now he was itching to know what had been said.

He smirked into the edge of his mason jar.

"At your service," he quipped sarcastically.

"My, oh my," she returned, quick as whiplash. "I got three words this time," she put a mocking hand over her heart. "I'm beside myself with the honor," she crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against the boat, that eyebrow cocking again.

She clicked her tongue in taunting disappointment.

"And I was so intrigued by the bad ass, monosybyllic John Wayne-meets-Clint Eastwood act."

"Yeah?"

"Oh, _yeah_. You want me to call ya Duke or Cowboy?" she asked, pursing her lips and shaking loose curls out of her face.

Jethro couldn't help grinning at the easy banter so dripping with acerbity and coy intelligence. A slow, lazy smile melted across her lips when he smiled and she pushed off the boat, her heels clicking ominously on the concrete floor as she moved around, approaching the workbench gracefully.

"Something I can do for you, Miss Shepard?" he asked, setting his mason jar back down on the boat and picking up the sander again. He turned to the boat and began to sand slowly, aware of her presence near the bench.

"Ah, the many possible ways to answer," she murmured with a soft laugh. She was messing with his tools now, he could hear it. "My business pertains to the fruit of your loins."

"Kelly's not here. Drink?" he offered, dropping the sander with a loud clatter and turning.

"Got that, she's dropped off the face of the planet. Only if what you've got is hard," she answered easily, her gaze snapping up to his with the barest hint of a racy smirk.

"Bourbon," he said gruffly, opting not to take the bait this time.

She shrugged.

"'M a fan of the grey goose myself, but Jack and I get along," she said, leaning back into the counter as he reached up into the shelves. He took a small paint can, dumped out the clean nails in it, and poured a copious amount in, placing it next to her arm firmly.

She swept it up and took a drink, facing straight ahead, unfazed by the less than sanitary makeshift glass. Jethro shook his head slightly, pleasantly surprised, and closed the bottle of Jack, returning to his boat as if Jennifer Shepard wasn't there. He felt her watching him and let it slide, until curiosity got the best of him.

"What'd Kel do this time?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Ah," Jennifer Shepard breathed, and he almost felt a smart-ass remark coming. She was brimming with them. "She broke the rules, my little innovative protégé," she sighed, and shook her head forlornly.

"Rules?" Gibbs grunted.

"Oh yes, rules. Rule three, if you're into specifics—"

"I'm not."

"'Course you're not," she continued fluidly, as if he'd never interrupted. She was not a woman who was often interrupted. "It's a simple little rule, really, that little probies have to follow until their all grown up. _Never_ be _unreachable_," he heard a pause, attributed it to her taking a swig of the bourbon, "the recruits have to understand that they don't have social lives. Miss Kelly is my bitch until she proves herself."

Jethro, busy moving around the boat to check the sand job, looked at her impassively through the ribs. She smirked at him, one shoulder lifting in a flippant shrug.

"And _my_ Agent Gibbs is unreachable," she said, like a predator cornering her prey.

"I'll bust her ass," Jethro informed her solemnly.

Jennifer Shepard pouted.

"What, and take away my fun? Not a chance," she tipped her head back for another drink.

Jethro shrugged. If Kelly was on call and she wasn't responded to her boss, he didn't care who kicked her ass as long as it got done. He pulled the sander off his hand and threw it on the boat, making his way around it.

"She's been gone 'bout three hours, be home soon," he shrugged, snatching up his mason jar again and leaning against the boat to face her. "Stick around if you want."

"I'm glad you offered. My entire goal in coming here was to garner a coveted invitation to the basement lair," she responded deadpan.

He just looked at her in answer. She was…captivating, was that the right word? She waltzed in his basement like she owned the place, not to mention apparently picked the lock upstairs. He appraised her from head to toe, allowing his eyes to wander without attempting to hide it. The culprits of the clicking—and probably the spectacular stair-falling—were impossibly high stilettos.

She wore dark washed jeans that gave casual a more elegant look and a neatly pressed, short-sleeved oxford blouse, unbuttoned once or twice at the top that stated confidence and sexuality. Her facial features were sharp; lips full, emerald eyes brimming with fierce independence, brows etched permanently with audacity. The hair was as Kelly had warned him: long, thick, almost curly, and styled as if someone had just run their fingers through it.

His eyes met hers and she cocked one of those eyebrows.

"See something you like?" she mocked, biting her lip.

"Haven't decided yet."

She raised both eyebrows in a show of amusement and set down her paint can, folding her arms again. He glared at her as he always did, until she broke into a very pretty smile and leaned forward a little, narrowing her eyes and whispering:

"Are we having a staring contest?"

"Were until you blinked," he answered seriously, pointing his index finger towards her left eye. Her eyes closed briefly and she burst into laughter, leaning back rather roughly against the counter.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs," she announced formally, "_You_ are a strange man."

"And you're the definition of normal, Jen?" he retorted derisively.

Her lips pursed in surprise and she gave him a look that was half deadly, half impressed. She let out a low whistle.

"Aren't you getting' brave, Cowboy," she drawled dangerously. "You don't call me Jen."

"Jennifer?" he queried, shoving off the boat to approach the counter, intent on refilling his mason jar.

"Jenny if I like you," she offered. He stood closer to her than he would have under other circumstances, his arm hitting her shoulder as he poured another shot. "And I haven't decided if I do yet."

Jethro shrugged and lifted the glass.

"I'm gonna call you Jen," he informed her.

She gave him a sharp look, biting the inside of her cheek, her expression unreadable—and then she shrugged and turned her head slowly.

"Arrogant prick," she stated mildly.

"Gunny!" yelled a badly-timed four-year-old from the landing. Jenny's gaze snapped in the direction of the voice in tandem with Jethro's slower one, and he set down the Mason jar with a silent groan.

"Last time I checked, you were supposed to be in bed," growled Jethro, but Levi was already marching down the stairs in full dinosaur footie pajama regalia, cow-licked hair and all. "_Son_," he warned, to no effect.

Levi leapt off the final landing to the basement floor, dragging stuffed Chewbacca with him, and looked at Jenny. She merely looked back at him.

"Levi," growled Jethro again, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Night scares," Levi said, puckering his lip. "Heffalumps under my bed," he informed Jethro solemnly, nodding. Jethro muttered. Whoever thought Winnie the Poo couldn't possibly scare a little kid had not met Levi Gibbs.

Jethro started forward.

"Back upstairs—"

"No!" cried Levi, jumping back and clutching Chewbacca. "Can't sleep with Heffalumps!"

"Oh, Jethro, you can't make him go back in there with the Heffalumps!" Jenny piped up breathily.

Levi looked at her curiously when she spoke, unaccustomed to her, stranger to her, and unsure what to think of the newcomer talking to his Granpa. He moved closer to Jethro, looking at her over Chewbacca's ear.

"Did she make fun of me?" he asked.

Jethro shot Jen a glare.

"He's perceptive, don't mock him," he snapped.

She shook her head earnestly and dropped to a graceful crouch.

"I wasn't making fun," she said, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "I know Heffalumps are scary," she told him solemnly. Levi nodded.

Jethro watched with interest. She slipped into communication with a child easily. Levi seemed to believe her. He put Chewy's ear in his mouth to hold him and reached out to touch Jen, going straight for the necklace at her throat.

"Levi," Jethro started, but she waved a placating hand at him and let Levi touch the necklace. Levi opened his mouth and the Wookie plopped to the floor.

"Dog tag!" Levi said excitedly, as the tags around Jenny's neck clinked together when he pulled them out. Jethro furrowed his eyebrows slightly, watching. They had been tucked in her shirt, hidden, but the chain that had been visible hadn't been the typical link for dog tags.

Looking closer, Jethro noticed it was one of the pair of dog tags, bent out of shape a little, and broken in half. It was interesting.

Jenny gently took it from Levi, smiled, and tucked it back in her shirt.

"Army brat," she said, and he knew she felt his eyes on her. Jethro vaguely remembered Kelly informing him that another reason he could never meet her red-haired, good-looking, all-knowing boss was she was the daughter of an Army colonel.

"Levi, we're going to bed," Jethro said sternly, moving forward.

"He's mean," Jenny told Levi.

"Grrrr," Levi replied.

"Yep. Run away," Jenny told him, and Levi dashed away. "And hide," Jenny added. Levi obeyed, scrambling under the boat and giggling quietly. He then shushed himself.

"Enabler," Jethro accused, glaring at her.

"I'm buying time to shamelessly gossip. That her little boy?" Jenny asked, nodding at Levi's hiding place, referring to Kelly. Jethro nodded, not sure how much Kelly had told her boss.

"Levi. Four years old. Punk."

"As opposed to the _not_-punkish four-year-olds?" Jenny snorted. She kept watching the kid's hiding place. "He's the center of your daughter's world," Jenny noted matter-of-factly.

"Yeah."

"Kelly doesn't talk about the sperm donor," Jenny commented, bluntly seeking information. "I figure that means he—"

"—hit the road," Jethro cut in shortly, gruffly, not in any way wishing to talk about it.

Jenny tilted her head, still watching Levi hide.

"Tough luck," she said. "Cute munchkin."

Jethro looked at her. The corner of her mouth twitched like she knew he was watching. There was something different about the way she watched Levi. He couldn't place it. It was just there, in the very edge of her eyes…softness, perhaps.

Levi slowly crept out from under the boat in his hands and knees, dragging Chewbacca.

"No bed?" he tried.

"Oh, yes sir, bed," Jethro responded, shaking himself out of it and walking forward. He reached down and swept Levi up, standing him on the boat eye level. "Bed or spanking."

Levi put his hands on his hips and stuck his tongue out at Jethro.

"Mommy said NO!" he insisted.

"Mommy is not here. And she's in trouble. Her authority is shot."

"Don't let him spank me!" Levi screamed at Jenny.

Jenny snorted.

"Don't think she can help you," Jethro said sternly.

"Don't worry, kid, I can arrest the old man for child abuse."

"Not. Helping," Jethro growled, glaring over his shoulder.

"Why don't you just offer to get rid of the Heffalumps?" Jenny asked, rolling her eyes.

Levi nodded enthusiastically.

"Make the Heffalumps go away, Gunny," he insisted. "Then bed."

Where the hell did this kid learn to negotiate?

"Bet Granpa doesn't know how," Jenny said. Jethro felt her creep up behind him, keenly aware of her presence. "Lucky I do," she whispered conspiratorially. "You have to catch them in a sticky glue web, and cover them with feathers—"

Levi's eyes went wide as saucers.

"Whoa. Bad idea," said Jethro gruffly, glaring at the redhead. Did she want to wreak havoc in his entire household? Jethro turned back to Levi. "Don't listen to her. She'll eat you. We'll kill them with the Vulcan Death Grip—"

Levi gasped dramatically, but was overshadowed a bit by the very slow, very sarcastic clapping that suddenly came from the stairs. Jethro and his daughter's miscreant boss turned, searching for the source. Kelly was staring at them in part amusement, part disbelief, in the middle of the stairs, applauding like a smart ass.

"Way to traumatize my child, guys," she congratulated balefully. "It's good to know who's not ever allowed to babysit Levi together though, thanks for shedding light on that."

She leaned forward on her arms, supported by the banister.

"What's he doing up, Dad?" she demanded. "It's almost midni—is that war paint? Is that war paint on his face? DADDY!"

Jethro looked back at Levi and made a face.

"Busted, bucko."

"Uh-oh," Levi obliged, hugging Chewbacca and hanging his head. Jethro sympathized with the feeling. He turned a little and realized Jenny was looking at Kelly like she'd just found her favorite new toy. He thought she might actually cackle with wickedness.

Kelly seemed to really notice that Jenny was there and she straightened up, making her way down the stairs.

"I warn you off my Dad and you seek him out twenty-four hours later? Damn, Shep, Tony was right about you."

Jethro didn't get to find out what this Tony was right about, because Jenny responded by smiling a little and quietly glaring at his daughter. Jethro resisted the urge to snigger. Kelly looked a little put out.

"What's up? Did I forget something in the Bookman file?"

"WHAT," began Jenny in a sharp bark, startling Kelly and Levi, "is rule _three_ AGENT Gibbs?"

Kelly stood there expressionlessly and then a look of realization crossed her face.

"Shit."

"Shit!" Levi repeated.

"Levi!" rebuked Jethro and Kelly.

"'Shit' is about the right way to put it," Jenny said. "Your ass. My car. Now."

"Why is she allowed to curse in front of him?" Jethro muttered petulantly, and was summarily ignored.

"Let me get Levi to bed."

"Huh-uh, Honey," Jenny said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "Boat boy can handle the ankle biter. You're mine."

Kelly looked slightly pissed, and folded her arms.

"Shut-up, Dad," she muttered, sensing his amusement, turning and stalking up the stairs stiffly.

Jethro actually did snigger this time. This was kind of fun. Jenny turned, smirked, and began to leave without a word when Levi touched her arm and pulled her back gently. He patted her on the cheek and gave her a little hug. Jethro's eyebrows went up. He'd never seen Levi warm to a stranger that quickly.

Jenny hesitated. She ruffled his hair playfully and smiled slightly when he released her.

"Pretty," Levi stated.

"It hugs and says nice things," Jenny teased, touching his nose lightly. "Sweet dreams, Levi."

She shot Jethro a sly look and a coy tilt of her head.

"Another night, LeroyJethro," she bid silkily, and he didn't quite miss the double entendre. She turned and paused, seeming to think about it. "Until then, feel free to watch me walk away. I'm told the view's a solid six."

He smirked as she turned her back, heels scuffing. Amused by the pun, he took her up on her offer, tilting his head. Jennifer Shepard did not look back at him as she disappeared to rip his daughter a new one.

He wasn't much surprised Kelly had taken to her anymore. He himself hadn't been so intrigued by a woman in a long while. She lingered. Her presence was tangible. He was attracted to her.

Levi hopped up to him and beamed.

"Pretty," he repeated proudly, obviously pleased he'd gotten the hug. Jethro swore he was gloating. He gave his grandson a very serious look.

"Damn good taste, stud," he said.

Levi shrieked.

* * *

_I'd be remiss if I didn't confirm that Jibbs is rampant from here on out.  
-Alexandra_


	4. 3

_A/N: Meet Jenny's team; a few choice characters we all know and love. _

_- I am updating this on Valentine's Day because I am a sap and it (in a roundabout way) pertains._

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs looked with mild interest at the visitor's badge pinned to his shirt. He leaned against the back wall of the elevator and stared at the closed doors as he waited to arrive at the main floor.

He was relatively familiar with NCIS; he'd been here before back in his Marine days for some cases when he was working Military Police, and obviously when they had been handling Shannon's murder. He was uninterested in his surroundings, as nothing had changed much.

Except, he noticed when the elevator doors slid open with a _ping_!, someone had apparently had a fit of eccentricity and vomited orange paint over the main floor. He gave the walls a distasteful look as he stepped off the elevator, suppressing a shudder. What a god-awful colour for walls.

Jethro prowled down the hall glaring at all of the agents moseying around. Lazy day at NCIS, apparently. He was here to retrieve Levi for a haircut. It was a Saturday, Kelly had weekend shift, and she'd decided to take Levi, claiming her team was bugging her to meet him, jealous that Jenny had. Jenny was apparently lording it over them all.

Over the numerous cubicle walls, Jethro caught sight of a crown of vivid red hair and smirked, wandering towards the bullpen in the center. He paused briefly at the entrance, enough for a dark haired woman and a half-grown geeky kid to notice him before he stalked over in front of Jennifer Shepard's desk.

He stopped directly in front of it and glared silently.

Her long legs were propped up casually on her desk, inappropriately exposed for the workplace due to the fact that she wore a skirt today, and the angle was persuading it to ride up her thighs a little dangerously. She seemed coolly oblivious, slouched in her chair. Jethro was somewhat amused to read the title _Cosmopolitan_ on the magazine that conveniently obscured her face.

He was content to stare and wait; he knew she knew she was being watched. She hadn't struck him as the unobservant type when she'd waltzed into his basement like she'd owned it about a week ago. He felt the eyes of the other two agents, who had falling silent, boring into his back.

"Um, Boss?" asked the geeky one timidly.

"Yes, McGee?"

"There's a man in front of your—"

"Because of my finely tuned investigative prowess, I'm well aware of that inconsequential fact, Agent McGee. If I acknowledged him presently, he'd be forced to stop looking at my legs. Therefore, I will ignore him for another five seconds," there was a pointed, five second on the money pause and Jenny slowly lowered the magazine until her startling green eyes peered over the edge.

Her eyebrow arched.

"I would ask if you're enjoying the view, but I assume you're still deciding," she greeted sarcastically, closing the magazine with a snap. In a flash her legs were off the desk and she was leaning back in her chair, her hand at her lips. She waved two fingers at him playfully.

"Hello, Jethro," her salutation was cool and teasing.

"You look different in daylight, Jen," he responded seriously, and for some reason, heard a gasp from the man behind him and watched the dark haired woman straighten a little, staring at him. "Almost didn't recognize you.

"You didn't, hmm?" she replied, turning her chair a little. "Whatever gave me away?"

"Stilettos," he informed her seriously, his eyes drawn ominously to the ridiculous shoes.

"I see. Given away by my one true love, I'm heartbroken," she sighed dramatically. Jenny inserted her index finger between her teeth and tilted her head. "How exactly do I look in daylight, LeroyJethro?" she asked warningly.

He pretended to think it over, letting his eyes drift over the forest green, half-sleeved oxford she had tucked into her navy skirt and back to the neat arrangement of her red hair in a low twist over her shoulder, behind her left ear.

"Secretarial comes to mind," he said, implicating an impure connotation.

"Damn. I was going for wanton White House intern today," she fired back without missing a beat.

She grinned snarkily.

"McGee, close your mouth," she ordered, without looking away. "I've become slightly disinterested in the banter, Luh-roy," she drawled. "Why am I currently being graced with your taciturn presence?"

"Levi," grunted Jethro.

"Autopsy," Jenny responded seriously.

He glared at her, a little shocked. She smiled and pulled her finger out of her mouth, sitting up and pulling her chair up to the next.

"Or he was," she said, adding secretively, "our Medical Examiner is in possession of some seriously intoxicating chocolate."

"Hey, Shepard, warrant came through on Ensign Forbes' apartment," the brunette announced slowly, looking over expectantly.

Jenny turned and looked at her. She blinked slowly, smiled, and returned her gaze to Jethro.

"I collected that one from the Secret Service. Her name is Kate Todd and she doesn't know how to take initiative," she informed him loudly.

Jethro raised his eyebrows. Agent Kate Todd stood up, rolling her eyes and picking up a backpack easily.

"You want me to take Tony?" she asked, coming to stand next to Gibbs, thought a distance off. She looked him over once and turned away when he glared at her.

"Nah, take McMesmerized over there," she ordered, glaring past Jethro at the geeky kid. "His blatant staring is starting to make me angry."

The agent called McGee leapt up, and Jethro could practically hear him gulping warily. Both he and the brunette left in a rush, starting a hushed conversation that was no doubt about Jenny's behavior with him. They were left alone in the bullpen.

"Alone at last," she quipped.

"Your team?" Jethro queried, jerking his head in the direction they'd gone.

She nodded blandly.

"Caitlin Todd, resident uptight voice of morality and former wet-t-shirt wearing catholic school girl," she said solemnly, "and Timothy McGee, highly intelligent computer-hacker graduate of MIT and Johns Hopkins," she praised the boy, and then frowned a little. "Sweet, but a bit of a social…well, retard."

She still seemed fond of him. He could tell she enjoyed working with both of them, from the relaxation in her demeanor. She let him study her for a minute.

"Hey, didn't you come to retrieve something?"

"Right. Kid. Needs a haircut,"

"Tragedy. Little boys hate those," she said, standing up. She placed her palms on her desk and leaned forward, one finger tracing the cover of her _Cosmopolitan_ in a marginally distracting way.

"Your favorite JAG officer wrangled the indictment on Petty Officer Foreman; he's on his way to a long, painful rape trial…"

The exuberant, loud voice of one of the NCIS agents trailed off as the man entered the bullpen and strode over to his desk, noticing Jenny was not alone. Tall, lean, with gelled, boy-band hair, the man threw his gun down on his desk and looked up, grinning a little. He looked pointedly at Jethro, who had turned to give him a glare, and then leered at Jenny.

"He the latest stress reliever, Red?" he asked, and Jethro figured this must be Tony DiNozzo.

"Just a chew toy," Jenny replied flippantly, glancing at Tony. "You seen Kelly?"

"This her Daddy?" Tony asked.

"Did I give you permission to inquire?" Jenny asked narrowly.

"Easy with the kitty claws, Shep, just curious," Tony snorted. He collapsed in his chair and threw his feet up, a file in his lap. "Kelly is…oh, right there," Tony flung his arm out in a general direction and flicked open his file, looking down.

"Bud Roberts is here," Kelly announced, carrying about six thick files as she walked into the bullpen, her eyes full of concentration. "He's freaking out though, muttering something about not wanting to lose his manhood…"

Jenny sniggered and Jethro gave her a suspicious look. He may know next to nothing about her, but he would bet she was the reason this man was afraid for his…you-know-what.

"He's not going to budge on the DNA database."

"Hi Kelly," Jethro said loudly, perturbed that he hadn't been greeted yet.

Kelly let out a soft scream and dropped her files, jumping at his voice. Luckily, the files she had were in manila envelopes, so they remained intact. Tony DiNozzo burst into cackles of laughter.

Kelly put her hand over her heart and glared at her father.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Creep?!"

Jethro blinked at her. She must have been really distracted to completely miss his presence. Jenny smiled like a Cheshire cat.

"You have seven seconds to pick those up."

"Why seven?"

"Because I knew you'd ask that. Four…three…two…" in a pretty impressive swoop, Kelly had all the files in her arms again and was glaring at Jethro.

"Just couldn't stay away, could you Daddy?" she asked, shaking her head.

He narrowed his eyes at his smart-mouthed daughter, not in the mood to have a conversation about redheads right at this very moment in this very spot. Kelly dropped her manila files in Jenny's inbox.

"He's here to pick up the creature that followed you to work today," Jenny informed. "'Bout knee high, yammers a lot, poked Ducky's dead marine recruit in the eye…" she listed, her tone droll.

"Levi's in the lab with our forensic tech," Kelly said, ignoring the suspicious and slightly pissed look on Jethro's face upon his hearing that Levi had been exposed to dead people. "He didn't touch a corpse, Dad, he just _told_ Shepard he was going to," she placated, rolling her eyes. "Come on, I'll take you to the lab—"

"This is very cute," Jenny announced mildly, looking straight at Kelly, "You, issuing orders, pretending you may come and go as you please. Endearing, really. God, you're cute."

Kelly smiled a little.

"Mind if I show Dad the lab so he doesn't wander into Cyber Crimes and start crying?" she asked.

Jenny regarded Kelly thoughtfully. She slowly shook her head.

"You and Tony are going to inform the mother of Seaman McDonald that her son's tied chains to himself and jumped ship," Jenny said, a little seriously. There was a clatter as Tony stood obediently.

"Uh, Tony can handle that alone," Kelly muttered.

"Hmmm…when did an order become a debate?" Jenny mused sardonically, not waiting for an answer. "I'll escort this Grunt to the lab."

"You don't deign to escort anyone," Tony remarked.

"Don't tell _him_ that," Jenny hissed playfully, rolling her eyes. "He'll think he's something special, getting help from _moi_!" She smirked as she started off, her walk quick and purposeful, towards the elevator. " It's a ruse anyway," she said matter-of-factly over her shoulder. "I'm going to grab his ass in the elevator."

Jethro smirked, not looking behind him as he followed Jenny with interest. He heard Kelly give a soft groan and mutter something under her breath. Probably trying to ignore the embarrassment.

Jethro followed Jenny into the elevator and stood, watching as she leaned across him, her arm forwardly brushing his chest, and pressed the button for basement, smirking slightly as she retreated and leaned against the side elevator war, looking at him.

She didn't say a word.

"She's a good mom," Jenny said, out of the blue. "Levi is happy as a clam. He's safe here."

Jethro glanced at her, surprised at the normality of her tone. She shrugged at his scrutiny, as if daring him to comment. The elevator swooped to a stop and the doors slipped open. Jenny sashayed out, stilettos clicking on the floor of the basement. Jethro could hear loud, upbeat music echoing down the hall.

He grimaced.

"Do you know what a Gothic Optimist is, LeroyJethro?" Jenny asked silkily, doing that thing with his name again. He gave her back an uncertain look. "Oh, good. You won't be prejudiced or predisposed to be terrified, then," she said happily.

He did not know how she knew what his answer was without him actually, in fact, answering. He didn't have a second to process it, though, because when he entered the lab, he was overwhelmed by rock music and a whirling mass of black and red.

The mass was dancing, and Levi was perched on a stool, holding a small plastic cup, laughing until he was red in the face at her antics. Jenny leaned against the refrigerator just inside the lab entrance and smirked. Jethro just kind of stared.

When the music faded to a stop, Jenny clapped her hands rapidly twice and the player shut off with a sound like a record being spun. The dancing woman whirled around and came to a jolting stop, pigtails swirling around her face and stopping after the rest of her.

"Hey Jenny," she greeted brightly. "Who's the fox?" she asked.

"GRANPA!" screamed Levi.

The woman, trussed up in black platform knee high boots, a plaid red and black miniskirt complete with chain, some sort of spiky dog collar, and a black shirt with a rainbow on it, clasped her hands and widened her eyes in adoration.

"Ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod!" she squealed rapidly. "You're Kelly's dad?!" she asked, and he could barely shake himself enough to respond before she had leapt forward and thrown her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Kelly's my favorite! Well, not my favorite—I don't have favorites, except for Major Mass Spec; he knows he's pretty much number one—and Bert! Bert too!—but I guess out of the people its Kelly. Or Jenny. I was so excited when we got to keep Kelly! She's so pretty and funny and—"

Jenny whistled slowly and laughed a little mockingly.

"Easy, girl," she soothed. "Let him go?" she suggested.

The girl released Jethro immediately but did not remove herself from his space.

"Sorry! I'm Abby Scuito. Kelly talks about you all the time—do you really have a boat in the basement you built all by yourself? And did you really let her put bows in your hair when she was five and put the pictures in a scrapbook? Oh, that's so cute! And—"

"Is this a Gothic Optimist?" Jethro asked, interrupting Abby Scuito and turning to Jenny for reference.

"There's only one in the world and she's ours," Jenny replied, with a wink.

"Gothic Optimist? I like it," Abby beamed. She tilted her head and pressed her lips together, studying Jethro. Deciding he was amused by her, he allowed her a small smile. Abby, if it were possible, smiled even wider.

"I dig the haircut. Stickin' to those Marine roots, right on, man," she complimented, nodding.

"Right on, Gunny!" said Levi, taking a slurping drink from the plastic cup he was holding. Jethro glanced at him over Abby's shoulder.

"You know how cool this kid is?!' Abby asked, pointing back at Levi. "He thinks he's a dinosaur, he really does! He even roars!" she laughed, amused by it all, and then realized Jethro must be there to pick up Levi.

She frowned, and her lips puckered a little.

"Are you here to take him away?" she asked.

Jethro, reminded strongly of Kelly's pre-teenager days when all it had taken were some well-widened little eyes to make him cave, smiled at the young woman and nodded. She stuck her bottom lip out and shuffled backwards, putting her arms around Levi.

"We're having so much fun! Levi was going to learn about Brain Matter next!"

"Heavy metal death band," Jenny said, pushing off from the wall, answering an unspoken question. "Release the child, Abs. I need you to get on that evidence from the Destroyer. I don't think McDonald's suicide was a suicide."

"Neither does Kate, but that's because she thinks Catholics don't kill themselves," Abby said solemnly as she slowly released Levi. "I tried to tell her my cousin Little Bartie killed himself by drinking lighter fluid and he was catholic…"

Jenny raised her eyebrow as Abby started to ramble, a habit Jethro assumed. He found it rather entertaining. In fact, he liked this Abby Scuito a lot. Levi squirmed out of Abby's grip and started to slide down the stool, jumping to the ground and charging forward to Jethro's legs. He grinned up at him with that little plastic cup, looking pleased.

"When does Levi get to come back?" Abby asked, looking from Jenny to Jethro.

"When we need someone to clean the toilets," answered Jenny solemnly.

"Hush you cranky bitch," Abby replied, prancing forward and giving Jenny a swift kiss on the cheek. She whirled around, her skirt and chains flying, and clicked a bunch of complicated programs on her fancy computer.

"Tell you what, Abby," Jethro spoke up gruffly, pushing Levi in the shoulder when the kid punched him in the leg. He started a mini wrestling match with his grandson, as Abby glanced over her shoulder, waiting for what she was going to be told. "You can come visit Levi whenever," he said, nodding when her brows went up hopefully. "See the boat, too."

She attacked him with another hug.

"Scratch everything I said earlier—you're my new favorite, you silver-haired fox!" she squealed, kissing his cheek and wrinkling her nose and excitement. "I like him," she informed Jenny, "Speaking of," she added, cocking her head at the redhead and gesturing at Jethro. "Noticed his pretty eyes yet, Lady-Boss? Don't you have a thing for baby blues?"

Jethro shot Jenny a smirk but she just smiled sweetly and refrained from responded.

"The same _thing_ he has for redheads," she said mildly, a flash of something wicked in her eyes as she glanced at him. "Or so I hear."

Abby gave them a prim look and stuck her nose in the air, turning around.

"Leave me," she said loftily. "I must work my magic alone."

"C'mon, Champ," Jethro growled, jerking his thumb at Levi.

"Bye Abby!" Levi said.

"Farewell, Sir Levi!" she responded, and he squealed, burying his face in Jethro's leg. Jenny smiled like a normal human being at his and Jethro smirked, placing a firm hand on Levi's shoulder and leading him out of the lab.

Jenny clapped lazily as she exited, and music blasted from the room again.

"She's something," muttered Jethro, shaking his head.

"I love Abby," Levi informed Jethro seriously, taking another slurp of whatever he was drinking.

"Uh-huh," Jethro muttered.

"Would you look at that, he already lies like a man," Jenny sighed, clicking her tongue. There wasn't much sarcasm in her voice though. She looked at Levi like he was the most precious thing without looking like a complete sap—unlike most women.

"Abby kissed me," Levi said, pointing to his cheek. There was a pronounced lipstick mark there.

Jethro gave him thumbs up.

"Nice," he complimented proudly.

Jenny just smirked and waltzed down the hall, calling the elevator and then subsequently stepping on it with them in tow. Levi immediately turned and smacked his hands over every single button, laughing manically.

"You ever wonder why they do that? Kids?" Jenny mused, leaning against her wall again. She was watching Levi quizzically. Jethro noticed that look in her eye again, the one he hadn't been able to place. She felt his eyes on her and snapped her gaze to his face, expression hardening.

"To watch it light up," Jethro grunted.

Jenny titled her head and watched him. Levi backed up, leaned against Jethro's legs, and then darted across the elevator to Jenny.

"The human head weighs eight pounds!" he informed her.

"No kidding?" Jenny asked, looking awed.

Jethro turned towards the elevator doors as they opened. Levi roared and darted out, weaving between a few agents, and disappeared into the bullpen. Jethro quickened his pace and caught up to see Levi climbing into the desk Tony DiNozzo had been sitting at.

"Nutso," he proclaimed.

"Nutso is right," Jenny agreed, perching on the edge of her desk. She crossed one long leg over the other and placed a hand on her hip, the mocking, languid smirk back on her face and in her arresting green eyes.

"Some knowledge to file away," Jenny commented mildly. "He's drinking caf-pow! It is ninety-four-point-two-three percent caffeine."

Jethro gave her a baleful look. As if confirming her statement of fact, Levi swept his hand across Tony DiNozzo's desk and sent every can of pencils or basket of office supplies flying.

"Whoosh! Hurricane!" he yelled, stomping up and down in the chair.

"Levi Michael Gibbs!" growled Jethro, snatching the kid up before he could blink amidst the quiet, amused laughter of Jenny. "Dammit, sometimes he's just—"

"Oh please, _leave_ it," she said, sniggering at the mess. "Tony's girlish drama when he sees it will entertain me more than you know."

Jethro was busy glaring Levi into submission.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking contrite.

"What if you had done that to Mom's things?" Jethro asked.

Levi gasped.

"Mommy goes crazy!"

Jenny snorted, and arched an eyebrow.

"I see even the mini person understands that his mother is on the histrionic side of obsessive compulsive," she mocked.

"What did you do that drew out the monster?" Jethro asked warily.

"Borrowed a stapler and placed it four inches from where I found it," she answered.

"Yeah, that'll do it," Jethro muttered, shifting Levi to a position under his arm like a football. Levi giggled and playfully punched Jethro lightly over and over again in the ribs, making his characteristic dinosaur noises.

Jenny looked at him quizzically and then let her gaze roam over Jethro's well-fit jeans and the neat polo he was wearing over a white t-shirt. She glanced up to see if he was watching her check him out, she smirked and said airily:

"It's only fair," she let her eyes roam, sparkling with mischief. When she found his glare again, she let the ghost of a saucy smirk flit across her lips. "I bet you're good with your hands," she murmured provocatively.

Jethro gave her a hard look, considering her. He let his gaze fall to the tempting curve of her lips and the graceful arch of her neck. He stopped his wandering eyes there, aware there'd been a dry spell lately, and it didn't take much.

"Put me down. Put me down now Gunny. DOWN!"

He had met her twice now, and he was more than attracted to her, in more than just a physical way.

She bit her lip.

"She told me about that redhead fetish," Jenny informed him, very blasé and silky, "said you were a piece of work, too."

Levi squirmed, still attempting to get away from Jethro. Soundlessly, Jethro let him down, and he began hopping around, karate-kicking mid air.

"I can hear you thinking," Jenny said.

"What's the answer, then?" Jethro asked gruffly, giving her just as smart a look.

"Oh, now, Mr. Gibbs, I'm a traditional girl," she chided, pouting a little. "You'll have to ask nice and pretty."

"Have dinner with me, Jen."

One eyebrow twitched up slightly, and the hand on her hip slipped off. She ran it over her thigh, smoothing out wrinkles on her skirt and resting it on her knee.

"Classy," she said, with a congratulatory nod. "I was expecting an alcohol related invite," she reached behind her on her desk and swept up a note pad, her eyes on him as she deftly scrawled something down on a piece of paper.

She slipped off her desk and delivered it to him, folded, held between two fingers; she reached around and slid it into his back pocket. Annoyed with her smirk and they way she thought she owned him, he reached out with a sure hand as she pulled back and ran his knuckles down the arch of her neck just lightly, enough to watch her eyelashes shiver in surprise and her lips compress at his touch. She wore the necklace Levi had touched in the basement.

Her emerald eyes flew open dangerously.

"Daring," she said in a low voice, "Touching me without permission."

She drew her hand over his hip and let it fall to her side, fingers resting against her thigh.

"Gunny!" groaned Levi, thrusting himself in the space between Jenny and Jethro and falling to the floor on their feet. He rolled to his back and looked up at them, scowling. "I'm bored."

"Stop looking at me like that, Jethro," Jenny warned, and it hit him in all the right places when she drawled his name, like she was tasting honey. "It almost makes me blush."

He smirked and ran his thumb and index finger along the collar of her oxford shirt, his fingertips brushing the skin that the top two free buttons left exposed.

"Tomorrow at seven," he said simply, pulling his hand away and nudging Levi to get up. Levi rolled over on Jethro's feet and curled around his legs.

Jenny smirked at him and stepped back, leaning against her desk with her ankles crossed. Jethro looked down at Levi and nodded his head towards the elevator. Levi scrambled up and blew a kiss to Jenny, laughing as he ran off.

"Jethro," Jenny called thoughtfully after him, and he turned at the exit of the bullpen. "I do like your eyes," she said, as she pushed off her desk and resumed her original seat, legs propped up, magazine shielding her smirk.

Jethro boarded the elevator, keeping one eye on Levi as he took the scrap of paper she'd slipped in his pocket out. He smirked at the lacy, elegant writing that formed her number.

* * *

"So," ventured Special Agent Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo, glancing at his newest team member. "Red and your old man?"

Kelly Gibbs, her feet up on the dashboard and Tony's iPod in her hand, rolled her eyes in her search for something to listen to.

"I don't know anything," she drawled, lifting an eyebrow and skipping the uncharacteristic club rap she found on one of Tony's playlists.

"Right, come on, Probie, he's your Dad."

"Doesn't mean I know who he's messing around with."

"So he _is_ messing around with Jenny?" probed Tony with interest.

"Why are you so interested in Shepard's romantic involvements?"

"I am interested in everyone's romantic involvements," Tony responded proudly. "Kate's, McGee's, definitely Abby's, yours—hey, speaking of yours…"

"I am not having dinner with you," Kelly denied with a smirk, choosing a jazzy Frank Sinatra song. It would do the job of shutting him up and entertaining her, as he'd probably start to sing.

"Is your denial a sort of workplace-morality-nobility-don't-date-a-coworker thing? Like Kate?" Tony quipped.

"Nah, it's a you-remind-me-of-my-four-your-old-and-that's-a-little-weird thing," she replied nonchalantly, dropping the iPod and leaning back.

Tony snickered. He gave her a wicked glance and she returned a suspicious look.

"Would you find it awkward if your father slept with Madame Boss?" he asked slyly.

Kelly burst out laughing, and wrinkled her nose, making a face.

"God, Tony."

He shrugged.

"Just tryin' to lighten the mood, Kelly," he said, eyes back on the road. "It's not pleasant telling family someone's dead."

Kelly shrugged a little and tipped her head back against the seat rest, glancing out her side window to watch the scenery pass.

"I know how to handle people who've lost their loved ones," she said quietly.

She ignored the curious look Tony gave her, and busied herself picking apart her father's motives towards her boss rather than letting herself think about her mother.

* * *

"Dad," Kelly called through the headband she was holding in her mouth. She glared at Levi as she tried to tuck his shirt into his jeans, pulling him back towards her by his collar as he tried to escape. "DAD!"

"WHAT!" he yelled back unhelpfully, and she rolled her eyes. It sounded like he was in the basement, of all places to get ready for a date.

"Levi," sighed Kelly, dropping the headband from her mouth. He'd simply sat down on the floor in front of her knees, making it almost impossible for her to tuck the shirttails in. He fell backwards into her arms and looked up at her.

"Mommy," he sighed happily. He reached down and pulled the rest of his shirt out of his jeans, giggling through his teeth.

"Why must you be difficult?" Kelly queried sternly, ruffling his hair. She frowned when she remembered he didn't have hair to ruffle anymore because for some inexplicable, completely Jethro-ish reason, her father had decided to let the barber give Levi a crew cut.

Kelly grumbled under her breath and patted his head absently, picking up her headband and placing it on her head to hold back her errant bangs.

"Where are we going, Mommy?" Levi asked, sitting up and pushing her hand away. He scrambled up and scampered away, returning to the fort he'd been building with wooden blocks before Kelly had insisted he change out of the dirty t-shirt Dad had let him wear all day.

"We are going to see a movie with Abby!" Kelly replied with a smile. "Isn't that fun, Levi?"

"Movie! Surprise!" Levi yelled, dropping his block and jumping up and down. He didn't get to see movies very often, not in the theatre!

"That's right it was a surprise. And since you've been so good for Granpa lately when he keeps you, then if you stay quiet through the whole move, we'll get ice cream afterwards."

"_Shhhh_!" hissed Levi, putting a finger to his lips earnestly. "What movie, Mommy?" he asked.

"_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_," Kelly said secretively.

Levi looked like he was about to explode with excitement.

"What, Kelly?" Jethro asked gruffly, appearing in the doorway.

"TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!" yelled Levi, diving at Jethro. Jethro managed to brace his knees so Levi wouldn't take him down when he thrust himself straight into them.

"Easy on the knees, boy," he growled.

"You think you're gonna need them tonight?" Kelly asked, lifting her eyebrow playfully as she stood up, looking a little forlornly at Levi's untucked shirt. It was a losing battle. She'd have to let it go.

He just glared at her and she snickered under her breath, pulling Levi casually away from his grandfather's legs.

"Why were you shouting across the house?" he asked pointedly.

"Yeah, uh," Kelly scratched her head. "Levi's tennis shoes?" she asked.

"In the basement," Jethro said, turning and walking down the hall. "He kept chucking them off so I just left them."

"You let him run around barefoot in the basement. Awesome."

"Your mother let you run around naked in the basement once," Jethro retorted.

Kelly gave him a slightly embarrassed, amused look from behind his back. It wasn't often her dad mentioned her mother at all, much less in a lighthearted manner. When he did, no matter what he said, Kelly couldn't find it in her to be angry, embarrassed, or annoyed. Just pleased.

She looked down at Levi and shook her head.

"Granpa's crazy," she informed him with a smile.

"Psycho," Levi added happily. Kelly laughed. "Time to go?" Levi asked.

"Not quite—"

"I want to go now!"

"Hey, remember when we talked about patience?"

"Patience is dumb."

"Cool, I'm glad you listen to me when I talk," Kelly said lightly, lifting her eyebrow at him. "We'll leave in another half an hour or so, bud. Wanna watch that episode of _Clone Wars_ we saved to pass time?"

"Yeah, _Clone Wars_!" Levi agreed, dashing down the hall to the living room. Kelly followed, crossing her arms across her chest with a grin. She stood in the living room for a minute, watching Levi fumble with the remote and successfully make his program play.

It never ceased to amuse her that Levi worked the television and DVR better than Dad did.

When Levi was settled watching Jedis beat the fire out of each other, Kelly wandered towards the kitchen, looking around for her father. He walked into the kitchen, squeezing past her, and placed a few coffee mugs in the sink, mugs that had presumably been left in the basement from his late night broods.

"You going out like that?" Kelly asked, giving him a once over. He gave her a look and didn't answer. Kelly giggled. She was having fun with this, partly because it was fun, and partly because she didn't exactly know how she was supposed to react to her father going after her boss.

Or, whichever way it was working.

"Dad, are you going after Jenny because I told you you couldn't have her?" Kelly asked, raising an eyebrow. Jethro rolled his eyes and glared at Kelly.

"I am not 'going after' anyone," he informed her gruffly, disliking the term.

"You like her," Kelly pointed out.

"That a problem?" Jethro asked shortly.

Kelly just shook her head slowly.

"Just don't do anything that jeopardizes my job, okay, Pops? I don't want to end up with another Diane."

Jethro dropped something he was holding back into the sink and glared viciously at his daughter. Kelly smirked.

"The Diane Fiasco was your fault, Kelly Roseanne!" he snapped.

"Yeah, so? She sued you," Kelly retorted, quite proud of herself.

Jethro glared at her harshly.

"You plannin' on pulling a stunt like that again?" he growled suspiciously.

"Nah," she said airily, "I hated that shallow bitch. Jenny, I like."

Jethro muttered something rude under his breath and looked away from her, turning the sink on to fill the dirty dishes with water.

"Are you going to wear cologne?" Kelly ventured.

He glared at her yet again.

"Never known you to be so nosy, Kel," he informed her sarcastically.

"I am simply looking out for your best interests, _Dad_," she responded, patronizing him. "You smell strongly of sawdust."

"The women I date _like_ the smell of sawdust," he responded.

"Oh, okay," Kelly answered breezily, turning and wandering out of the kitchen.

Jethro gave her a look as she left and turned off the sink, exiting after her and going down the hall to his bedroom. He changed from his t-shirt to something marginally nicer though not fancy. He never had felt the need to dress up in order to impress someone. Either they liked you or they didn't, end of story.

That, and he wasn't planning on taking Jenny somewhere stiflingly prissy. He hadn't actually _planned_ anything, come to think of it, except that he had to pick her up.

"Hey Father," called Kelly down the hall, sounding amused. "What time was your date again?"

He glowered at the bureau in his bedroom, rummaging through the top drawer where he kept odds and ends of random stuff.

"Seven," he responded after a stubborn moment.

"Yeah, you sure about that?" he looked curiously at a few wrinkled ties in his miscellaneous drawer, put out by Kelly's words. He didn't get a minute to ask, though, because she continued: "Because Jenny just walked in."

Jethro paused in his rummaging and gave his drawer disbelieving look.

"He's in the bedroom," he heard Kelly say, and listened to the sound of the quiet, sure footsteps he'd already come to associate with Jenny Shepard.

"Speak when spoken to, Probie," Jenny responded, and he could hear her smirking. "Damn nice job on the Forbes file," she added. Her voice was louder, and he felt her presence in the doorway before he turned around and saw her leaning against the frame.

He turned right back around, as if waving her off.

"I'm supposed to pick you up," he informed her mildly, speaking as if she didn't know how these things worked.

"How very archaic and tediously predictable of you," she replied easily. "Don't worry; you still get to drive."

"Seven comes an hour after six," Jethro stated antagonistically. "You're early."

"It's a good thing you noticed," she answered seriously; "Else I'd have thought I was letting an idiot buy me dinner."

He bent his head a little and glanced at her, waiting for an explanation. He could tell she had more up her sleeve.

"If you're wondering why I made it my prerogative to show up unexpectedly at your house an hour pre-dinner excursion…" he shook his head in amusement and turned back to his drawer, picking out his wallet, keys and pocket knife.

She fell silent.

"You forget how to speak?" Jethro grunted, lifting his knee to shut the drawer.

"Oh, no," she said airily, "I was creating heightened suspense," she added conspiratorially.

Jethro turned around, slipping the items into his pocket, to see her let a purse slide from her arm to the floor by her feet and take a few steps into the room, looking around. She lifted an eyebrow in interest and let her hand fall to the unmade covers of his bed.

Casually, she sat down and crossed her legs, leaning back on her arms and tilting her head nonchalantly.

"Dispensation of awkwardness," she commented blandly, smirking a little. "I drove over here so at the end of our experimental little outing, there's no moment of uncertainty pertaining to if we go to my house, or yours," she paused, and shot him a guarded, teasing look. "The only question will be if I drive home tonight or tomorrow morning."

"Don't get to thinking I'm easy, woman," he growled.

Jenny laughed.

"Not easy, Jethro," she soothed, relaxing back on his bed with a hand behind her head and the other resting over her hip. She glanced at him briefly and then looked at the ceiling again. "Hard, I think," she murmured.

She felt his eyes on her and smiled comfortably.

"…to deal with, that is. Hard being a synonym of difficult in this context," she clarified sweetly.

Kelly walked by the open door at that moment, back tracked, and poked her head in, looking at Jenny on the bed and Jethro, standing next to it.

"Damn," she said pointedly, giving Jethro a look. "You'll be glad to know no one ever got me on my back that quick."

She was already waltzing off calmly as Jethro registered what she said and paled considerably.

He tried very hard to convince himself Kelly had _not_ just insinuated…whatever. Jenny laughed sarcastically.

"God, look at your face," she mocked, looking up at him mildly from the bed. "I'm curious, were you under the impression your little angel was still a virgin despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary?"

Jethro scowled, still trying to erase the idea from his brain.

"You want a drink, Jen?"

"Thought you'd never offer," she replied amiable, sitting up fluidly. Jethro nodded and left the room swiftly, leaving her to follow him down the hall and subsequently towards the basement. He paused on the landing before the final two steps and turned back; Jenny narrowly avoided colliding with him.

This meant he was left almost nose to nose to her when he turned around, looking straight into her twinkling, ever-sarcastic eyes. He noticed her eyes flicker slightly at the proximity, a muscle in her throat jumping as if she were hiding an intake of breath.

"What are you doing, Jethro?" she breathed quietly, nonplussed.

"Didn't want you to fall again," he responded, mocking her a little for the one very ungraceful move he'd seen her make.

"Your concern flatters me," she smirked, slipping past him gracefully. She was not at all shy about letting her body brush against his in the stairwell. Her footsteps to the basement floor were slow and deliberate, and when he followed suit, she watched him with softer mockery than customary.

He poured bourbon into the two mason jars he had available this time and thrust his arm out to hand hers to her. She took it delicately and sat down on his workbench, her legs crossed.

He took the moment to look her over, basing his decision on where to take her on what she had chosen to wear. Dark washed jeans that fit temptingly snug and a soft, clingy in all the right places yellow sweater. He could see black high heels peeking out from her jeans.

Good. She wasn't expecting swanky.

Her hair had that wild look to it again. He found himself wanting to drag his fingers through it, and took a rather large drink.

"How are you going to get the boat out?" she asked mildly, turning her jar slowly in her hand and looking at it with interest.

"Break the bottle," he answered pointedly.

"Ah," she nodded, and extended her index finger towards it. "Might help to finish it first. That happening in the near future?"

"Someday," he grunted, non-committal.

She made a small noise in the back of her throat and looked over at him.

"Does it have a name?" she queried after giving him a good long look.

"_She_," he corrected gruffly, downing the rest of his bourbon and walking forward. "You ready to go?"

Jenny looked mildly taken by surprise in the wake of his abruptness, but nodded with a ghost of a smile and set her jar down on the workbench, intent on leaving it. He reached down to move it to the counter and she reached down, her hand covering his as she gracefully stood up.

"In case I want it later," she said simply, lifting her purse from next to her and slipping it casually up the shoulder. She threw a smirk at him and started up the stars, her hand falling from his and dancing up the banister.

He watched her retreat a little before following, hitting the basement lights. He was really beginning to think he was getting lucky tonight.

As he took the last couple of stairs, he ran almost straight into Kelly, who was standing there blocking the doorway, looking stern. He stopped and blinked at her, waiting impatiently for her to move.

"Be nice," she said in a low voice, glaring at him.

He gave her a look that clearly stated he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Just remember Stephanie," Kelly reprimanded. "Though I highly doubt you'll succeed in making Jenny cry."

Jethro rolled his eyes, patted Kelly's head patronizingly, and squeezed past her. The Stephanie thing hadn't really been his fault, either. Not _really_.

"You kids have fun!" Kelly yelled playfully, as Jethro entered the hall and caught sight of Jenny leaning against the wall, examining her manicure. She smirked as she heard Levi's ensuing giggle.

"Thanks for the well-wishes, Probie," she said, jerking her head at the door and heading out. "I hope your father doesn't get me so drunk I spill about what you really did on that school trip to Mexico."

Jethro stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway and started to turn around, glaring already, but Jenny hooked her fingers into his collar and pulled him back…just as Kelly reappeared in the hall looking mortified.

Jenny smiled innocently and reached past Jethro to pull the door to.

"What happened in Mexico?" Jethro demanded the minute the door was closed.

"Stays in Mexico," Jenny responded smartly, stepping down on of the front steps and waiting expectantly.

Jethro busied himself grumbling as he found his keys and nodded towards the driveway, where his, Kelly's, and now Jenny's cars were parked respectively. Without even thinking about it, he let his hand fall to Jenny's lower back as they walked down the path and he hit the button that unlocked his truck.

Jenny didn't seem bothered by the truck, though her car was more in line with Kelly's; small and…pretty.

Jethro jerked open the door for her out of habit and didn't miss the lazy smirk on her face as she got in, pulling it shut herself. He slid in the driver's seat, started the truck, and backed out, noting that Jenny did not buckle her seatbelt.

"I've concluded after strenuous deliberation that I ultimately prefer 'Jethro'," Jenny commented, rolling her head and watching him drive. "Though 'Leroy' might slip out occasionally. Providing I get bored."

He glanced at her.

"Whatever you like, Jen," he said deliberately.

She glared at him through her lashes and pursed her lips silently.

"Should we make small talk, Jethro?" she asked in mock seriousness, turning her gaze out the front windshield to watch the scenery.

"Eh," he shrugged. "Nice weather we're havin'."

Jenny laughed, unable to miss the blatant cliché.

She was content to sit in silence if there was nothing to see. Oddly enough, she'd noticed silence wasn't as typically awkward around Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He seemed to thrive in it. Fine by Jenny Shepard, then; she liked to study people anyway.

It took her mind off herself and the past.

"Bar and grill," she noted, as Jethro parked the truck.

She was considerably pleased. A nice choice without being stuffy. She looked over at him again and wrinkled her nose playfully.

"Is there a sports game on you don't want to miss?" she asked secretively. He shrugged, taking his keys from the ignition and opening his door.

"Like the atmosphere," he said. She lifted an eyebrow, accepting the answer. A somewhat loud, strategically lit Bar/Grill in a nice part of Georgetown, by the Potomac, did seem like a good choice, and she applauded him on that.

It had been a length of time since she'd properly dated. She usually just picked someone up at the bar if she needed to scratch an itch.

Occasionally, at the beginning, she'd taken Tony home.

Jenny pushed her hair back and her thoughts with it as she got out of the truck, shaking her locks back over her shoulders and walking around the truck, where Jethro was leaning against it, waiting.

"So it begins," she remarked.

He smirked, and they headed for the Bar/Grill.

It was as she had expected. Nice, dark, cedar furniture, a bar, televisions, classy and yet somehow revealingly clad waitresses. She smirked at the short skirts and let Jethro pick one of the empty tables, further in the corner and closer to the bar than most.

"Good choice," she complimented, slinging the chair back and sitting down comfortably. She leaned back and rested her arm over the back, sitting at an angle, resting her other arm on the table.

One of the waitresses came to ask their drink requests, and Jenny was pleased to note that, most likely due to the salt-and-pepper hue of his hair, the younger woman didn't have a second glance for Jethro.

"Bourbon," Jethro grunted, barely acknowledging the waitress, while Jenny ordered a Jack and coke, partly to keep him guess and partly—

"Start with the watered down version," she offered, when his brow went up in question at her drink choice. "I'm not sure how long this will last and I'm hard to handle when inebriated."

He shrugged and jingled the keys still in his hand at her.

"You're not driving," he remarked, as if saying she should drink all she wanted.

She smiled and leaned back, drumming her fingertips on the table absently. There were indeed sports games displayed all over. Numerous baseball games, some soccer, and the beginning of Basketball's March Madness.

"You a baseball fan?" Jethro asked, noticing her eyes on the Nationals-Red Sox game.

She gave him a lofty look.

"Am I an American?" she retorted, eyes flicking back to the screen. She frowned and shook her head. "Think they Nationals'll ever make it to the World Series?" she asked derisively.

"Soon as it snows in hell," answered Jethro, taking his glass from the waitress with a curt nod. Jenny grinned and picked hers up, twirling the thin red stirrer between her index finger and thumb before she took a small drink.

"It's rather amusing, the overwhelming contradiction between you and your offspring," she noted suddenly, her lips still on her tumbler.

"Yeah?" he grunted, interested to know what this woman thought of Kelly.

"Oh, yeah," confirmed Jenny, nodding. "She's a sweetheart. Talks a decent amount, but it's nice, because when that girl talks, she's got something to say. Nice job on that," Jenny complimented, before going on, "but you, LeroyJethro. You don't say much."

"No sense in using one hundred words when one or two will do," he said with a shrug.

Jenny nodded in agreement.

"It might be a more pleasant world if the majority thought like that," she said mildly.

She didn't like people who talked too much. They generally ended up causing more pain than healing. In her experience, at least.

But she didn't want to think about that. Not when Jethro was coaxing her to be a little more interested in the opposite sex than she had been bothered to be in a while.

"Waitress is coming back," Jethro informed her, and Jenny glanced at the laminated menu that was lying on the table.

"Buffalo wings," she suggested.

"Bleu cheese or ranch dressing?"

"Both."

"Affirmative," he said seriously, and she grinned into her drink as he ordered, relaxed. He was easy to be around. It was helpful that he hadn't started the date with the oh-so-typical 'So, tell me about yourself'.

The curious thing was, she wouldn't mind if he was curious.

She was curious about him herself, but could sense he wasn't quite forthcoming.

She knew simply what Kelly had offhandedly mentioned: ex-marine, ex-Military Police, builds boats in his basement, slightly chauvinistic. And Kelly really, _really_ adored him.

"Tell me, Jethro," she began quietly, "What do you do when you're not building that damned boat?"

He considered her for a moment.

"Marine recruitment office few minutes outside of DC," he said gruffly, "I spend a few days a week there."

Jenny nodded, pleasantly surprised.

"I guess there's no such thing as an ex-marine," she said, and he nodded his head seriously. She drew her arm off the back of her chair and leaned forward, her palms cradling her tumbler on the table.

Something about him was so magnetic, even if he wasn't much of a talker. She watched him closely for a few moments, barely moving her hands back as the waitress reappeared out of nowhere and delivered their basket of wings and the dressings.

Jethro sat forward at the arrival of the food.

"You eat, don't you?" he asked seriously.

She nodded slowly, with an easy smile, as she chose one of the wings from the basket.

"Good," he muttered.

"Don't like women who don't eat?" she asked.

"No point in wasting good food," was his answer.

"Touché," Jenny agreed, taking a bite.

She chewed thoughtfully, considering her options, and then took a moment to wash down the food with a drink, giving him somewhat of a challenging look.

"Got an idea," she said.

"Do you?"

"Mmm-hmmm," she nodded, "Twenty questions."

"Guessing game?" he asked.

"Or something like it," she said, with a sly look. She picked up the little container of blue cheese examined it before allowing her buffalo wing to meet it. "I ask a question, you give an answer, then it's your turn," she informed him. "You get one pass."

He considered her. He watched her eyes sparkle animatedly as she talked, flicking between calm and mischief. He watched the way her throat moved as she swallowed, the compression of her lips when she took a drink.

His eyes snapped back to attention; he gave a small smirk.

"Fire away."

"Been married before?" she asked.

"Once," he answered, his face deliberately blank. She nodded, indicating it was his turn.

"How long you been at NCIS?"

"Six years. Kelly's mother?" Jenny went straight into her next question, her eyes on his.

"Not in the picture," he answered, before a brief flicker of indecision. He answered the same way he had all the others. It wasn't something he discussed. "For years now."

Jenny nodded, understanding. So he was divorced, and he had some kind of touchy, chivalrous problem with that. Fine.

"Ever killed anyone?" she asked.

"Marine sniper," was his ominous answer, before he asked: "You?"

She shrugged.

"Comes with the job."

"Has Kelly—" he began slowly.

"Ah, ah, my turn," she interrupted chidingly, "Only child or eldest child?"

"Only," he answered.

"Same," she said, before he could think of a question, and she added gently, "Kelly has never fired her weapon."

Jethro nodded, swallowing. He took a steadying drink at the thought and Jenny watched him, loosening up a little to focus on her food a little more.

"What's with the heels?" was his next question, and she smiled fondly.

"True love," she answered, then asking: "The redhead rumor, fact or fiction?"

He smirked a little.

"Fact."

She grinned, and gave a complimentary bend of her head that send the curls tumbling over her shoulder.

"Ever been married, Jen?" he asked, figuring it only fair.

She gave a slight, only the barest, bat of an eyelid and responded:

"Pass. How old are you, Gunny?" It was almost too quick for him to notice that there was something there, just past the cool demeanor of her eyes.

He let it slide. There was no need to push. He guessed that it was a soft subject; maybe she'd come close and something hadn't worked out. He gave her a look at the question she'd asked but answered all the same.

"Forty-eight."

She caught his eye and gave him a warning look.

"Watch your next question," she teased, alluding to her age. He grinned an inclined his head.

"Only fair," he said, repeating words she'd once said to him.

"Younger than you, older than Katie Holmes," Jenny answered smartly.

"Who?"

She laughed at the utter absence of pop culture knowledge.

"Thirty-three," she relented.

"Jailbait," he remarked, and she reached across to pinch him. It wasn't that big of a gap, really.

Not by the standards society set, if you took a look at Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. Though Jenny highly doubted Jethro would have an inkling who they were.

She looked at him in amusement for a minute and he returned the sentiment, taking a drink.

"Who's turn is it?" he asked, having forgotten completely.

"Mine, I think," she murmured. Deciding she'd test how easily embarrassed the man was, she fished around for a slightly risqué question. "First time you had sex?"

He looked mildly taken off guard, but not outraged. That got him points for not being uptight and frigid. She couldn't deal with uptight _or_ frigid.

"Nineteen."

"Reasonable," she allowed, congratulating herself for pegging it about right. She waited for his question, expecting an identical one. She got it.

"You?"

Oh, he was predictable.

"Twenty-one," she answered calmly, aware it probably wasn't what he expected. He did well in hiding his surprise. To turn his attention from any further questions on that subject, she grinned wickedly.

"_Last_ time you had sex?"

He grinned at her and she lifted an eyebrow, his response taking her off guard.

"Pass."

"I'm intrigued," she commented, hardly aware she was still eating now. This was engrossing. This was better than anything she'd done in a long time.

"You like kids?" Jethro asked, and for a moment the question scared the hell out of her, even made her a little angry, until she calmly rationalized he was considering Levi.

"Depends on the kid," she answered shortly. The last thing she wanted to talk about was kids at this moment. "Speaking of," she continued. "Levi's father. Spill."

Jethro gave her a look at the order. If this wasn't something Kelly had discussed, it was safe to say it wasn't his place to do so. God knows he hated talking about that dirt bag.

"I am not judging your daughter, Jethro," Jenny informed him quietly, "I simply like to know my team. It's painful for her. I won't ask her," she explained in a short way.

Jethro nodded, and twirled his glass, taking a break from the food.

"She was nineteen, been at college for a year," he started gruffly, "Came home one weekend and told me everything. I never met the guy. He was older, a grad student she worked with or something."

Jenny nodded slightly, pretty much able to figure out the rest of the story.

"I don't know if she thought she loved him or if she just messed around or what," Jethro said truthfully. Kelly had never been loose-lipped about the whole story; he just knew she'd been hurt. "She transferred schools, moved back in. I did what I could."

"She ever tell the guy?" Jenny asked, impressed with Jethro's simplicity. There were so many fathers who would have handled it all so badly.

"Yeah," Jethro growled. "Hasn't spoken to him since."

"Bastard," Jenny murmured, low, anger flaring up in her at the thought. She liked Kelly, and she liked it considerably less when people she liked were screwed over by jackasses.

"Kelly was always good," Jethro stated.

"She still is," Jenny pointed out, though she was aware he wasn't implying she'd failed him in anyway. "She's adventurous."

Jethro blinked; unsure he liked the connotation behind that. He let it go though, and took a drink of his bourbon, grumbling:

"Might not have gotten into this mess if she'd had better exposure to _that_ particular _talk_."

Jenny smirked in amusement, filing away that information. Kelly's mother had clearly been out of the picture since she was young, then.

"Oh, no," Jenny sighed, a little frightened at the thought, "the dreaded sex talk. You didn't use Lincoln Logs did you? God, my father used Lincoln Logs."

Jethro looked horrified.

"I bought her a book!" he informed her indignantly, quickly shooting down the notion that he would involve himself in a reproductive explanation using Lincoln Logs.

Jenny laughed. A book was better than construction toys, she supposed. Jenny shook her head, still entertained by the thought.

"My turn," he said suddenly, and she looked at him expectantly. "Why NCIS?"

She gave him a calculating look and then a half-smile.

"To piss off my father," she offered. He raised a questioning eyebrow. "The colonel was an army man," she clarified fondly.

Jethro nodded, somehow aware that was a far cry from her really reason for joining NCIS. It intrigued him to know how she'd ended up at the Navy's version of the FBI. It seemed an odd, and yet a perfect, match for her.

Jenny leaned forward, setting her tumbler down on the table with her fingers splayed over the top of it, arching a playful eyebrow at him.

"Next question," she said lightly, and tilted her head to the side a little, "You play?"

He glanced at the pool table she'd gestured at, noticing it had been abandoned for the time being while the game on the televisions hit a particularly exciting point. He leaned back a little, ran his hand over his mouth, and gave her a cool nod.

She smiled impishly and stood up, downing the rest of her drink. She gave that tilt of her head again and he was up in a flash, eager to see if she could play worth a damn, or if he'd need to coach her on her grip _just_ a little.

* * *

A good four hours later, hours he'd hardly felt pass, he'd chalked the night up to a damn impressive success. He'd gone out intrigued and become only more fascinated.

Now, on the quiet, dark stretch of road just before his driveway, he was silent again, and Jenny was as well, a subtle smirk playing on her lips.

She was a lot of things, and a lot of fun.

Pulling into the driveway, he gave Kelly's pristinely kept car a dirty look and muttered silently to himself, for once annoyed that she had moved back in with him. As if she knew what he was thinking, Jenny snorted and sat up a little, her eyes on the car.

"Kelly's home," he stated neutrally.

Jenny gave him a look, her head on the seat, and then opened her door, stepping out. She walked around to the front of the truck and leaned against it, a little chilly in the not-quite-spring air. She heard his door slam as he came to meet her.

"Probie's got me blocked in," she noted with a scoff, making a mental note to park directly behind Kelly's car at work tomorrow.

"Stay if you want," Jethro offered, and Jenny looked at him in the scant light, considering the offer.

It surprised her that she didn't want to. She didn't want _that_ to happen yet. Not saying that she didn't want it to happen because, well, the way he was looking at her was seriously knee-weakening.

"I've backed out of tighter spaces," she said, walking forward to her car.

She took a quick survey of the area. Kelly didn't have her blocked in badly, and Jethro had left enough space for her to maneuver out. He inclined his head, accepting her answer. She was less hardened at the moment, less sarcastic and biting. He liked it, though he liked the other persona, too.

Jethro followed her to the car.

She made her way to the driver's side and reached for the door, just for his hand to cover hers firmly, the skin almost jumping with electricity and surprising her all over again.

"It really isn't necessary for you to open the car door for me, Cowboy," she said softly, throwing him a look over her shoulder.

He just shook his head.

"Wasn't plannin' on it," he said simply, his hand sliding up her arm and turning her back around towards him. He reached out to touch her throat like he had in the bullpen, his thumb caressing her pulse so lightly, brushing over the chain of that necklace.

Her breathing hitched and she leaned back into her car.

"You have permission this time," she said of the feather-like touch, and reached forward to hook her fingers again into his collar.

She pulled him forwards and her eyes met his for a brief second before he pressed his mouth against hers. Jenny allowed him to curve her closer to him, his hand trailing from her arm to her hip. She toyed with the top two buttons on his shirt, fumbling them loose, just to touch his skin.

She was so tempted to stay, just if he would keep kissing her like this. God, he was good. She felt dizzy, and that took a lot.

It was a kiss so full of restraint and control, with just the barest taste of the lust that could be unbridled.

He bit down gently on her lower lip and her breath stopped again, her fingers pressing into his chest a little more firmly.

The porch light flipped on, mocking them.

Jenny was already smirking when Jethro broke the kiss, though she really thought she should be trying to breathe.

"I'm going to kill her," he growled, as more light flooded the porch and a quite loud, cheery voice echoed out of the house.

"Aww, look, Levi! Granpa's home!" Kelly said excitedly, clearly enjoying having the position Jethro usually had in the scheme of dating.

Annoying as it was, he still didn't regret flicking the lights on and barging out of the house every time Kelly and some sleazy boy had lingered to long in the drive.

"Gunny?" shouted Levi excitedly, at this point darting past Kelly and scampering onto the night lawn.

Jenny swiftly removed her hand from Jethro's shirt and touched his cheek softly, twitching her nose and giving him a sultry look.

"Next time date ends at my house," she said a little huskily, pressing a teasing, quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He was already congratulating himself for earning a next time and an invitation to bed in one go.

He slowly removed his hand from Jenny's hip as Levi came skipping happily up to them and pounced at Jethro.

"Mommy says I get to stay up to tell you all about mutant turtles! We brought you ice cream, and I got to see a preview for the big kids…" Levi began chattering excitedly, some of his words slurred as only little kids can.

Jenny had opened her car door and was leaning against it, watching, her keys in hand.

Jethro yanked on Levi's hair fondly and looked back at her for a brief moment.

"Another night, Jethro," she said smartly, as she had the first time they'd met.

"Night, Jen," he answered, albeit a little distractedly.

She settled herself in her car gracefully, a calm smile on her face. Levi tugged on his jeans and started pulling him towards the porch, where Kelly was waving to Jenny with a self-satisfied, mocking smirk on her face.

Jethro took one glance back at Jenny's car, watching her concentrate on backing out. He'd seen the flicker in her eyes again, that implacable emotion he'd seen in the basement that first night she appeared in the scheme of things. It had stuck with him then, and it stuck with him now, because it was so disheartening in an inexplicable way.

This time, though, he knew what it was about her. In the eyes, under the skin, imbedded beneath the exterior.

It was sadness.

* * *

_'The human head weighs eight pounds!' --points to whoever can name the movie I stole that quote from!  
-Alexandra_


	5. 4

"McGee," greeted Kelly Gibbs pleasantly as she leaned around from behind him and placed a cup of freshly brewed Starbucks coffee on his desk.

Timothy McGee jumped a mile and banged his knees on his desk as he looked around at her, glaring.

Kelly snickered.

"Ah, the Mc-not-so-Probie-anymore is so jumpy," sighed Tony DiNozzo, chucking a balled up piece of paper at his colleague. Kate Todd smirked at the interaction and hung up her phone, marking something down in her ever-present agenda.

"She does that to you every morning, McGee," said Jenny Shepard mildly, her feet in their customary position on her desk. "Would you like to explain to me why it still scares you and why you have yet to learn to anticipate?"

"No ma'am."

"Then would you like to explain to me why you called me ma'am _again_?" she growled, raising an eyebrow and pulling a manicured nail away from her mouth as she shot him a narrow look.

"No…Jenny…" he said, wincing as he reached for the coffee cup.

Kelly patted his head and sat down on his desk pertly, taking a sip of her own coffee.

"Isn't that cute, the probies are sticking together?" Kate teased in a friendly manner, her nose wrinkling.

"Perhaps it is because the senior probie is probing the junior probie," Tony cackled, leering at them.

"Hmm, that sounded like a comment that needed to be washed out of your gutter mouth," Jenny drawled, glaring at her partner and senior agent.

He shuddered, and turned his attention away from Kelly and McGee to his favorite person to tease instead.

"Speaking of probing," he sing-songed, gearing up to resume his mocking of Jenny's latest interest.

"Let's not," Kelly muttered, hopping off McGee's desk to retreat to her own.

Kate grinned and leaned forward.

"What do you think it is about him, Kate?" Tony asked, meeting Jenny's sarcastic glare with a wicked one of his own.

"Oooh, the baby blues," Kate simpered, twirling a bit of her hair. She grinned at her boss and earned a superior look from the slightly older woman.

"Ya think?" DiNozzo asked.

"Madame has a fetish for the blues," Kate replied, leaning back.

"Ah, yes, but methinks it's the dashing salt-and-pepper maturity of his hair," Tony corrected, leaning back casually in his chair, "Tell me, dearest Red, is it the silver hair? Does it make you all tingly inside? Abby seems to think so—"

Kelly groaned and knocked her head against the wall of the bullpen while Jenny took the teasing in stride, the immovable smirk set on her face.

"Seriously," Kelly whined, glaring at them all. "He's my father. Shut the hell up."

"He ceased to be just your father when he became Jenny's new play toy," Tony sniggered, earning a pen casually flicked at him from the redhead.

"They have been out _once_," Kelly pointed out, rolling her eyes and twisting in her chair. She loved slow days at the agency that turned into snarky, witless conversations with her colleagues.

Tony scrambled to sit up straight in his chair, grinning triumphantly.

"Au contraire, Probette," he said smugly, giving her a relishing look. "You didn't know about the late night coffee call?"

"What late night coffee call?" Kelly asked suspiciously, giving her own cup a look as if it had betrayed her.

"I plead the fifth," Jenny said gracefully, smirking her trademark smirk.

"Then I'll bear witness, my lovely redhead," Tony said gallantly, standing up and prowling to the center of the bullpen. "Two nights ago, while working alone here late one night—past eleven, I think it was—our fearless leader made a call to one Leroy Jethro Gibbs, prompting him to appear mysteriously ten minutes later with two large cups of coffee. Unbeknownst to the Lady Boss here, I observed her clandestine encounter and chaperoned the very scandalous—"

Jenny, noticing that Kelly looked appropriately terrified of what Tony was going to divulge, interrupted lazily:

"Sweet," she commented, pursing her lips a little. He looked at her expectantly and she continued: "Sweet, I mean, that you actually entertained the notion that I didn't see you crouched in an embarrassingly demeaning position near the copier, left with nothing to do but lurk around work living vicariously through me after your latest booty call's husband cancelled your date."

Kate's face broke into a wide smirk as she awarded Jenny the win, and Kelly and McGee laughed as well, particularly at the gobsmacked look on Tony's face.

He gave her a graceful mock bow after a moment.

"The damsel wins yet again," he conceded playfully.

"To your seat, knave," Jenny responded, waving her hand loftily towards Tony's desk. He retreated, instead, to lean against the filing cabinet, while Kate answered yet another phone call.

"How's Levi?" McGee asked in the silence that had fallen.

"Troublesome," Kelly answered fondly, giving McGee a smile, "Dad taught him to count the days until his fifth birthday and now he won't shut up about it."

McGee laughed at the thought and Kelly appreciated his interest. She got on well with McGee; he was the newest on the team besides her, and had given her a warm welcome (without any teasing or tricks) from her first day.

Unlike Tony, who had informed her that getting Jenny a cup of lemongrass tea would get her on the boss's good side (luckily, Jenny had seen Tony's hand on that and gone ape on him instead of her), or Kate, who had informed her Abby's Lab was up near interrogation, inducing her to walk directly into the conference room while the Director was conducting a very important meeting.

She didn't mind too much, though. She knew it was hazing, and she was familiar enough with stories of Marine Boot Camp hazing to be thrilled to death they didn't put her through half of what her father put up with.

She liked her team mates.

Kate Todd, who, though she could be uptight and self-righteous at times, was friendly and helpful and always around for a cup of coffee or dinner when Kelly needed some adult time to bash men or just have a chat.

Tony DiNozzo, who made her laugh and yet drove her up the wall with his slapstick, off the cuff remarks and antics. He was a tease and a playboy and Jenny's oldest team member, an eternal child in possession of a surprisingly sharp investigative eye.

Abby Sciuto, whose completely contradictory nature was always welcoming and always eager to please. She was equally normal and quirky, and essential to have around when the day was going particularly badly.

Ducky, who was just so…Ducky, with his long-winded tales and prophetic statements about life.

Timothy McGee, who she…who she just really, _really_ liked.

And then, Jenny. Sharp witted and resourceful, sarcastic and mocking, someone whose respect Kelly strived for and whose accomplishments and success she admired. Jenny pushed; she didn't accept anything less than the very best and she demanded honesty and integrity.

In ironic short, she reminded Kelly of _Dad_.

A fact that was made even more ironic by the disturbing fact that _Dad_ had decided to chase Jenny, and she'd apparently decided she'd let him get a hold of her.

Kelly grumbled a little to herself. Late night coffee call. What the hell _was_ that, anyway?

"Probie," barked Jenny suddenly, staring directly at Kelly across the bullpen. The team stopped. "You seem deeply immersed in extensive and suspiciously silent thought," she mused, and Kelly knew what was coming. "I'm quite sure that, with such a pensive, determined look on your face, you could only be profoundly considering the importance of rule number three. What is it?"

"You are never going to let me live that down, are you?" growled Kelly, glaring at Jenny.

"That is decidedly the wrong answer."

"Never be unreachable," parroted Kelly, "And I'd like to point out, for the third time, that Kate was also unreachable that night, and she has yet to be bitched at for it."

"I dearly love that you feel the need to point out facts to me that I am acutely aware of, Special Probationary Agent Gibbs," Jenny said sarcastically, taking a drink of her coffee, "And though I do not feel the need to justify my actions, your smart-ass bravery in talking back merits a response: I was not trying to reach Kate, I was trying to reach you. And you, sweetheart, were unreachable."

"Oh, it won't happen again, Jenny," Kelly responded, with a small smile, adopting the same airy tone. She held up her sleek, recently acquired blackberry and shook it a little. "I set a wonderful little ringtone under your name that goes off even when the phone is silenced."

Tony looked between them gleefully.

"Have I told you that I liked you today, Kelly?" Jenny asked, giving her newest team member somewhat of an approving smile.

"No, but I'm mighty glad to hear it," she replied setting her phone down.

"What the hell just happened?" Kate demanded, trying to suppress a small smile at Kelly's success. She was rooting for Kelly to hold her own here. She'd seen quite a few newbies fail at attempting to work for Jenny Shepard.

"Oh, don't feel less-liked, Katie," crooned Tony mockingly, sending Kelly a wicked look. "Our favorite boss is just feeling amiable towards the new kid because she's sleeping with Daddy."

Kelly's distressed moan was punctured by the shrill ringing of Jenny's landline, and as she answered it swiftly, she gave Tony a deceivingly demure look and whispered:

"In his very lascivious, very hardcore dreams, DiNozzo," Jenny didn't miss Kelly's disdainful glare at the mere suggestion as she turned a bit away from her amusing team and barked into the phone: "Shepard."

"You going to deny your old man's involvement with Red now?" asked Tony triumphantly.

Kelly just rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Secretly, she was glad if her Dad and Jenny found something they liked in each other. She was tired of seeing the lonely look in Dad's eyes when he stood and watched she and Levi from across the room, and there was something about Jenny that begged for someone to care about her as well.

But admit it to Tony? Never.

"Coffee and dinner mean nothing," she blew off. "I bring McGee coffee every morning and Kate and I had dinner last week."

"Well don't get me started on Kate's sexual preferences, missy," Tony leered, earning a whack to the head from Kate as she shook her head in irritation. "You think they're having sex?" Tony asked, jerking his head back at Jenny.

"Oh, yeah," Kelly answered firmly, a sarcastic smile breaking over her lips at the slapped-in-the-face look Tony adopted. "As much sex as Kate and I are having," she finished wickedly, her voice dripping with acerbity.

Tony's eyes went as wide as saucers, immediately distracted.

"You better not be having sex with each other, any of you," Jenny growled, standing up from her desk. She yanked up her drawer and pulled out her Sig Sauer, jamming the magazine into it. "Dead petty officer in Rock Creek Park, let's go," she ordered, her no-nonsense ton immediately shielding anything else.

The team sprung to action.

Kelly waited until they had sprinted off at Jenny's behest, slinging her backpack over her shoulder swiftly and approaching Jenny's desk. Something Tony had said earlier was still lingering, and she wanted to clear it up.

"You waiting for an invitation to the party, honey?" Jenny asked, looking up sharply.

"My father," Kelly said shortly, looking her boss straight in the eye. "He's not a toy."

Jenny's eyes narrowed at her and she studied her greenest agent for a brief second. Her face was an expressionless mask as she deigned to answer, curtly, and with finality:

"Tony's words, not mine," she bit. "I have not played with toys since I was a very little girl."

Jenny didn't wait for Kelly to follow her, and Kelly felt curiously ashamed for saying what she had. There had been the quickest flash of something in Jenny Shepard's eyes that suggested it had hurt her.

"Kelly," Jenny said sharply, and Kelly went towards the elevator. "Take the stairs," she ordered, stepping on. She gave Kelly a serious look and then spoke, levelly and pointedly:

"I suggest you don't listen to a cute little word Tony says about my romantic track record. He doesn't know a goddamn thing."

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was more than relieved when he heard Kelly's car door slam in the driveway. A certain grandson of his had apparently decided he hated Granpa today, and was being completely unmanageable.

Jethro was currently busy ignoring Levi while he threw a temper tantrum, pointedly refusing to acknowledge his existence while he was acting like an unruly chimpanzee.

Levi stopped kicking the wall as soon as he heard the door open.

"Oh good, Mommy's home," Jethro growled sarcastically at him, receiving in turn a mean look from Levi, who took off down the hall for the comforting, more spoiling arms of Mom.

"Hey, buckaroo, why the tears?" Kelly crooned; Jethro continued chopping things for dinner, grumbling to himself.

"Gunny is mean," he heard Levi tell her, and made a noise of outrage.

You tell a kid he can have two cookies instead of five, and you get called _mean_…

"Yeah, I know, but why cry about it? It isn't going to change him," Kelly soothed, and Jethro heard her come around the corner, dumping her purse on the counter with a thunk.

Jethro looked glanced up at her narrowly, and then back down, only to do a sharp double take right as Levi reached up to push Kelly's hair out of her face.

"What happened to your nose?" he asked, touching it softly.

Kelly winced.

She slowly looked around at her father, and utilized a considerable amount of self control to prevent herself from laughing at the look on his face, something between uncontrollable rage and worry.

"Dad—" she began calmly, but he was already chucking his chopping knife down and storming past her towards the basement. "Where are you going?" she asked mildly, giving Levi a questioning look.

"Get my gun," he grunted, and Kelly rolled her eyes, following lazily to the landing of the basement stairs. Her father was indeed unlocking the drawer that held his precious retired sniper rifle.

She humored him.

"Why are getting the gun, Dad?"

"I'm going to kill whoever did that to your face," he snarled.

"He's already in jail," she informed him calmly, and succeeded in getting his attention off of the immediate destruction of the assailant who'd not only blacked her eye and cut her lip, but nearly broken her nose as well.

Jethro glared and crooked a finger at her. She shook her head.

"I've already had ice and antiseptic. Ducky fixed me up."

Jethro grumbled as he kicked his sniper drawer shut and trudged back towards his daughter and her marred face. He gave her a baleful look at the top of the stairs, annoyed that he hadn't even been allowed to fix it up.

"Tell Ducky I'll be having a word with him," he informed her.

Kelly touched one hand to her cheek with an indulgent smile.

"Ducky just doesn't have your magic touch, Daddy," she soothed, giving him her cheek to kiss.

He did so, just like he had when she'd hurt herself as a little girl. She smiled fondly and led the way back into the kitchen. She set Levi on the counter and stood in front of him, standing next to Jethro.

He glared at her.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Really, Dad, you should see the other guy," Kelly joked half-heartedly under his quailing glare.

"A _man_ did this to you?"

"He was a suspect—"

"A MAN HIT YOU?" he shouted in outrage. Levi's eyes went wide and he covered his ears. Kelly stared.

"Christ, Dad, don't freak out or anything," she muttered sarcastically.

He looked completely pissed off and shocked at the same time.

"Who the hell hits a woman like this?" Jethro demanded, reaching out to touch Kelly's bruised check gently, careful not to hurt her. She rolled her eyes.

"Not everyone is as jaw-droppingly noble and chivalrous as you are," she patronized, a small smile on her face. "I deal with a lot of scummy bastards."

"I will kill them all," Jethro promised scarily.

"Okay, Dad."

"Kill them," Levi repeated, baring his teeth.

Jethro solemnly high-fived the kid, effectively making amends for the less than favorable day they'd had together. Kelly gave her father a mini-glare.

"Killing people is wrong, Levi," she said sternly, slowly turning to him.

"Then they don't hurt Mommy!" he interrupted her.

"Why don't you go play with your Lincoln logs while I have a talk with—what?" she asked, noticing the smirk on Jethro's face suddenly.

He wiped it off his face, quelling the memories of what Jenny had told him about Lincoln logs. He gave Kelly an innocent look and she looked at him suspiciously, lifting Levi down and popping him on the behind playfully, inducing him to run away towards his toys.

"What are you cooking?" she asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.

"Enchiladas," he grunted, throwing more ingredients into the pan, "Spill, Kel."

"Don't interrupt this time, then," she retorted, kicking the fridge shut gently. She uncapped her water bottle and came to stand beside him again, watching him work.

"We busted this sailor fixing evidence to frame his superior officer at the last minute, and found out he was headed for Dulles to skip the country—it's a long story, don't ask—so we're stalking him to the airport, trying to corner him, see if he's getting out with anyone, when the guy spots Tony tailing him and bolts. Jenny wasn't ready for him and he took her down pretty hard—McGee and I had to chase his sorry ass down two flights of stairs and into a Southwest terminal before he decided to fight back—"

"Where was McGee?" Jethro snorted, already disliking this '_McGee'_ in his head because he had failed to keep Kelly from getting hurt.

"Out of breath," Kelly answered with a smirk. "Sailor turned and caught me off guard, got in a couple of punches before I got him on his back and cuffed him. 'Course, then Shepard got a hold of 'im and made him wish he'd never been born…" Kelly smirked at the memory, even more so when she remembered the small smirk and nod she'd received from her boss.

"_Humph_," grunted Jethro, chopping things forcefully. Kelly smiled and snooped around in the ingredients, determining if she liked how he was making the enchiladas this time or not.

"Mom's recipe?" she asked, stealing a small square of chopped pepper and eating it. Jethro gave her a distasteful look at the choice of snack.

"You remember it?" he asked mildly.

"Duh," Kelly responded, rolling her eyes. "I also remember you not making enchiladas the way she did since she died," she added gently, giving her father a soft look.

He just shrugged. Kelly put down her water bottle and put her head on Jethro's shoulder and her arms around his neck, smiling. She wrinkled her nose and he smiled, glad she was okay. She looked a little worse for wear and he'd been scared to death when he first saw her.

"Jenny okay?" he asked, trying to sound as unconcerned as possible.

"Why, you worried?" Kelly teased immediately, far more intuitive than he'd anticipated. "She's fine, just pissed off. Cracked her head on the wall," Kelly said with a shrug, stepping away and sweeping her water bottle up again. She gave Jethro a wicked smile. "I'm sure she'd like a kiss to make it better," she said suggestively, and then dodged the pepper Jethro threw at her with a laugh.

"I'm taking my rascal to the basement to start that model plane I promised him," she said, disappearing to find Levi.

"Model plane," snorted Jethro, grumbling about how it should have been a boat that Levi decided to buy.

Levi jumped by seconds later, followed by Kelly and the unopened model airplane box.

"Hey, come help us," she said over her shoulder, "You know, do the manly stuff, like the building, and the gluing."

"Ah, give it a rest," he said, rolling his eyes. "Be down in a minute," he added, turning the oven to the right temperature.

He was slightly bothered that Kelly was out putting herself in danger. He hadn't thought about it this much when she'd mentioned NCIS, or taken the job at NCIS, but seeing her actually injured, and the brief conversation about Shannon, worried him. He didn't want Levi growing up without a mother, and he didn't want to lose Kelly.

He'd already come so close to losing her back then. He hoped she was being careful.

Jethro sighed as he put the pan he was using in the oven and checked to make sure nothing would explode or catch on fire if he left the kitchen for a while. Nodding approvingly, he retreated to the basement, flicking the light on in a rare gesture.

"Now we can start, Granpa knows where the hammer is," Kelly told Levi, looking up as Jethro came off the stairs.

Levi crossed his arms and shook his head, sticking his tongue out at Jethro. Kelly looked amused; Jethro just rolled his eyes.

"What did you do to him today?" Kelly asked mildly.

"I told him 'no' various times," Jethro growled.

"Ah," Kelly said, giving Levi a look. "You, mister, are going to learn to take 'no' for an answer."

"NO!" shouted Levi, appropriately.

Kelly laughed.

"_That's_ why he never learns," Jethro pointed out, examining the model airplane, "he thinks he's hilarious because you _laugh_ at him."

Kelly responded by sticking her tongue out at her father.

They were prevented from beginning the model airplane by quick, clunky footsteps from upstairs that grew louder as the approached the basement. Kelly looked immediately confused.

"Abby?" she murmured, as the woman in question appeared on the stairs.

"Oh my god!" she squealed, prancing down them easily (and managing to avoid tumbling as Jenny had, even in precariously high platforms). She reached the basement floor, oblivious to the fact that she had in fact just randomly walked into someone's house, and put her hands to her heart worriedly. "Oh my god!" she squealed again.

Jethro was starting to get déjà vu from the first time they'd met.

"ABBY!" Levi squealed.

"Are you okay? Boss Lady told me about your bad ass moves, she said you got to go home early but you looked a little worse for—oh my god, oh my god oh my—"

"Why do these people just walk into my house?" Jethro grumbled loudly, good-naturedly though.

Abby turned to him in mid freak-out and resumed her tottering forward, leaping at him with an attack hug.

"You must have been so worried! Are you okay?"

"I'm the one who's hurt," Kelly said with a laugh, looking with amusement at Abby hugging her father. Apparently, Abby had taken to Dad quite well their first meeting in the lab.

Abby squeezed Jethro tightly and he patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"Everyone's fine, Abs," Kelly soothed. "Please let my Dad breathe."

"Sorry!" she said, jumping back. She looked sympathetically at Jethro, and then brightened. "To answer your question, you said I could come over whenever I wanted!" she said with a smile, nodding.

"You did?!" Kelly asked, brows going up in surprise.

Jethro shrugged, caught.

"I like this one," he said gruffly.

"ABBY!" screamed Levi again, charging across the basement and wrapping himself around her leg. "Did you bring Bert? Can we play Dance Dance?" he asked rapidly, grabbing her arm and swinging it.

"You're not the only one," muttered Kelly fondly, watching as Abby ruffled Levi's hair.

"No Bert, Levi, he's guarding the lab while I'm out on the prowl," she said, smiling. "Dance Dance is in the lab too, guess we'll have to make our own music," she suggested.

Levi seemed to consider the suggestion.

"Can I have a kiss?" he asked seriously.

"You sly dog," joked Abby, crouching down and giving him a swift kiss in the middle of the forehead. Levi giggled, covered the lipstick mark, and ran away, hiding behind the boat.

Abby looked at it and her eyes lit up.

"Oooh, boat," she squealed, approaching it and touching it, "It's like a jungle gym! Or a tyrannosaurus rex rib cage or…or—"

"A boat?" suggested Jethro gruffly, raising an eyebrow.

"I am in awe of this," Abby announced. "Silver-haired-fox, you are a great architect of nautical paraphernalia," she peeked between the ribs of the boat, waved at Levi, and then mused without thinking: "Jenny's right about your skill with your hands—"

Jethro coughed loudly and cleared his throat. Kelly looked between the forensic scientist and the former marine suspiciously. She threw her hands up.

"I really want to know what happened on this late night coffee call," she demanded, glaring at Jethro.

Abby was lying on the boat, her pigtails hanging off, reaching up to touch the wood above her.

"Hey, Kelly," she called, "Know what would be really interesting to try in this thing?" she started, and Kelly knew what was coming. She paled slightly and shouted:

"Abby, do you want to stay for dinner?" before the Goth could suggest having sex in her father's boat.

Poor Dad's pure, cute image of Abby Sciuto would be ruined forever.

Abby twisted and looked excitedly at Kelly, beaming. Her answer was clear. She was overjoyed to earn an invited to dinner chez Gibbs.

One very chatter-filled dinner later, Jethro was watching Kelly and Abby play hide-and-seek with Levi as he dragged his feet cleaning up (loading the dishwasher). He had learned much more about NCIS (or rather NCIS's employees) from Abby than Kelly had even thought about spilling.

In fact, Jethro now knew that the medical examiner's assistant was sleeping with a girl from the legal department. All over the place. And Abby was filming it and planning on distributing it. He was slightly concerned about what kind of place Kelly was working at.

"Why aren't you playing?" Abby asked brightly from behind him, and he shrugged. She frowned. "You didn't jump. I was trying to scare you."

He snorted, and gave her a look. She nodded in defeat.

"Right. Marine. Not happening, huh?" she shrugged and started helping clean up, moving impressively fast in her shoes and waltzing dishes into the kitchen.

"You're supposed to be hiding," Jethro pointed out.

She nodded, and put a finger to her lips as she set down Levi's dishes.

"He won't find me. He won't look where he might be made to clean up," she informed Jethro proudly.

"You don't have to help," he said gruffly.

"Nonsense!" she said, giving him a wide-eyes look of innocence and then a less-than-sweet grin. "How else will I gossip shamelessly about Jenny?"

She smirked as he gave her a mild glare.

"When are you taking her out again?"

"Dunno," he answered shortly.

"Are you the private type, Gibbs? You might have to adjust. You know, if you're going to hang around with us. Especially Tony. He talks a lot."

"So I've heard," Jethro muttered, shuddering with the stories he'd heard from Jenny and now Abby as well.

"I talk a lot too, and you like me. I like you too, Gibbs, so I'm glad that's mutual. You're a classy guy. Were you aware Jenny likes you kind of a lot?"

"Does she?" he asked mildly, not contributing much to the conversation.

"In my expert judgment, I say yes. She doesn't date. I think you make her smile, which is good, because I like it when Jenny smiles—hey, now you're smiling!" Abby pointed excitedly and clapped her hands.

"Mr. Gibbs sir?" Abby asked seriously, giving him a very endearing and very level look.

"Don't call me 'sir'," he ordered. "Or 'Mr.'" he added as an afterthought.

"Another point for you," Abby said. "Jenny hates being called 'ma'am'. It makes her hurt people."

Jethro smirked.

Abby cleared her throat, reminding him she'd been about to ask him a question. He looked at her mildly and lifted an eyebrow, waiting.

"You think you can make it go away?"

"What go away?" he asked off-handedly, already coming to expect off-the-wall comments from Abby.

"Whatever makes Jenny sad," Abby said solemnly.

Jethro studied her. She picked up on it too. It made sense; Abby was curiously in tune with everyone's emotions, including her own. She looked at him expectantly. He knew he felt a connection to Jenny, but he was beginning to wonder if it was something visible, considering Abby seemed to have honed in on it too.

He did what he did best. He shrugged.

Abby squealed. She gave him a hug.

Levi leapt into the kitchen, roaring, yelling that he'd caught her. Kelly followed.

"Those blue eyes really are to your advantage," Abby said matter-of-factly.

"STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!" Kelly shouted, dragging Abby away from her father, determined to stop the chaos that was currently surrounding him and Jenny.

She wanted everyone to let them be. She didn't want anyone to get hurt in whatever the hell was going on.

Jethro smirked. Kelly gave him a look and rolled her eyes.

And like that, the conversation was over.

* * *

He was sleeping.

Or, rather, had been sleeping until a shrill, obnoxious ringing interrupted him.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs lifted his head groggily and blinked, reaching to the bedside table to fumble for the cell phone he had just remembered he hated. Grumbling in the dark, he checked the caller thingy to see who the hell was calling him at five in the morning.

Seeing the name, his interest piqued, and he laid his head back down as he flicked the phone open.

"Yeah?" he drawled, not bothering to mask the thick sleepiness in his voice.

"I hope I didn't wake you from anything good," came her throaty, mocking voice, the subtle racy inflection of her tone implying that she very much hoped he'd been dreaming of her.

And suddenly, he wished he had been, instead of tossing fitfully as he did most nights since losing Shannon.

"You know what time it is?" he growled.

"Enlighten me."

"Early."

"Easy, Jethro, your eloquence is showing," she said sweetly and sarcastically, moving fluidly into her next word game: "You wanna give a girl a ride to work, One Word Wonder boy?"

He woke up a little. Interesting offer.

"Somethin' wrong with your car?" he retorted.

"No," she intoned, imitating his bored drawl.

"Why?" he asked, prompting her to give him a reason.

"Mess with your daughter's head," she answered wickedly, and she brought a smirk to his face.

Jethro shifted in bed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He snatched his watch off the bedside table.

"What time?" he grunted.

"Oh-six-hundred," she answered in her wayward fashion, and he could see her attractive, glittering smirk as the snap of her hanging up echoed in his ear.

* * *

Kelly Gibbs walked into work like she had every morning since she landed the job: a cup of coffee for herself and one for Tim, her backpack on her back, her purse over her shoulder, and her blackberry in her hand.

She wasn't paying attention until she walked into the middle of the bullpen towards her desk and noticed no one was there. Confused, she stopped looking at her blackberry and glanced around hesitantly.

The team was milling around about the window.

"Yeah, she doesn't know, pay up, Kate," Tony sniggered, advancing on Kate with his hand out.

He winked at Kelly. She gave them all a suspicious look.

"You don't know she doesn't know, ask her if she knows," Kate retorted, smacking Tony's grabby hand away.

Still incredibly suspicious, Kelly handed Tim his coffee.

"What's going on?" she asked loudly, looking mainly at McGee because he'd break first.

"She definitely does not know!" Tony said gleefully.

"Know what?!" demanded Kelly.

Tony looked triumphant. Kate smacked him in the shoulder.

"Oh come on, Tony, everyone is confused around you," she said spitefully, turning to Kelly, "Kelly, was—"

"Where did Daddy Dearest sleep last night, Probie?" Tony interrupted gleefully, bounding up to her with an infectious grin on his face.

Kelly smiled a little and backed away from Tony's excitement.

"Um," she began curiously, "in his bed."

"WRONG!" yelled Tony. "Pay, Kate, now, she didn't know!"

Kelly turned to Kate, and then McGee, seriously confused now, unsure whether she should be amused or very, very frightened.

"Guys, this isn't funny. I give up," she said.

"Let's take pity on her," Kate suggested, paying Tony reluctantly.

He sighed dramatically, smiled as it very much sympathizing with Kelly, and then put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her forward a little, towards the window.

"Now this may be hard to believe Princess Probina, but though you were correct in that your father slept in a bed last night, you were incorrect in _whose_," Tony was clearly relishing this.

"What?" Kelly asked, not understanding. She wracked her brain.

"He slept at Jenny's house," McGee blurted, tired of Tony playing with Kelly. McGee was not sure how Kelly would take the news.

"In Jenny's bed," added Tony unnecessarily.

Kelly looked at them both blankly. And then laughed.

"No, he—"

"Oh yes. Yes, yes. No denial, here missy—"

"Tony," interrupted Kelly with another laugh, wondering why they were trying to pull this on her, "I went to bed at two in the morning; Dad was asleep. I check on him. What are you talking about?"

This time, Tony looked briefly perturbed by her information. Looking around at his colleagues, he shook it off and dragged Kelly to the window, pointing insistently.

"Yeah? Explain," he ordered, gesturing to the front gate.

Kelly cocked her head as she noticed what was going on. There were a few disconcerting things happening. One of them being that her father was here, with his car, at this early hour, and he was hanging around it with Jenny, who had her gear with her, certainly implying she'd been driven to work by someone other than herself.

The second odd thing being at this vantage point, Jenny and Dad looked like they were touching. A lot.

Tony tapped his finger primly on the window, watching her like a hawk.

Kelly shrugged.

"Guess he snuck out," she said mildly, and Tony jumped into the air cackling.

Spying with the others, Kelly tilted her head, her brow furrowed a little. She took a slow, thoughtful drink of her coffee, letting a smirk spread over her lips.

She may be incredibly confused right now, but she didn't necessarily see the morning's events as a _bad_ thing.

* * *

_ I realize every single one of you is waiting for the smut. If I remember correctly, five's the charm:)  
-Alexandra_


	6. 5

_A/N: You sinful readers, you, laying in wait for the smut. Shame, shame:)..._

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs sanded his boat contentedly, trying to decide if the rare peaceful silence of the house was something he cherished or disliked.

He had not been interrupted in three straight hours. No one had cried, yelled, broken something, or made a mess in even longer. There was not even the sound of footsteps running across the floor upstairs. It was nice, and yet it was odd to him not to have a child in the house.

Kelly had gone to visit her Grandfather in Stillwater for the weekend, taking Levi with her. It had been impromptu. From what he could discern, she had suffered a particularly difficult case at work, something he had already assumed if the late nights and snippy attitude were anything to go by.

She needed the break. He wondered what had her so upset. Kelly hadn't seemed to want to talk about it at all.

The one night in the past ten days she had come home at a normal time she'd been whisked away no more than two hours later when the infamous Agent Tony DiNozzo waltzed into the house and solemnly informed her 'something had happened'.

Jethro wasn't sure he liked this DiNozzo fellow yet. He seemed like a court jester.

Jethro paused in his pursuits with the boat as he heard the subtle sound of a door shutting upstairs. The confident click of heels above him seconds later confirmed that it was indeed who he'd thought it might be, and he smirked. She was one of Kelly's colleagues he didn't mind just _waltzing_ into the house.

He continued sanding the boat, even when he heard her on the stairs.

"Fancy meeting you here," she greeted, teasing surprise in her voice, "in your curious natural habitat of Boat, where the rivers of bourbon flow plenteously."

He snorted.

"Come to help yourself to that river?" he asked mildly, rubbing a spot on the boat with his thumb.

"Affirmative," she answered. "I come bearing gifts to offset the hijacking of your bourbon, you see, so it really is a situation of mutual benefit."

He put his hands up on the boat and looked at her as she leaned against the banister, having reached the concrete floor. She held up a bag of Chinese take-out like a bribe, arching an eyebrow.

"Food," she clarified.

Jethro considered her a moment, and nodded approvingly, breezing over to the counter to retrieve the customary bourbon drinking necessities. Jenny sashayed over, taking her own sweet time, and began to pull take-out boxes and set them around.

She reached under his arm with deft reflexes and stole the mason jar of bourbon before he could register what happened, leaving him with the small paint can this time.

A small, innocent smirk was all he received in response to his glare. That was _his_ mason jar. She set a pair of chopsticks and a container down in front of him firmly and smiled, picking up one of her own.

"Kelly is absent from the premises," she stated. Jenny was never straightforward when she wanted information, not in the orthodox way. She was blunt, but she didn't generally outright ask questions.

She made cute statements that drew answers from him before he realized what had happened.

"She's in Pennsylvania with Levi and my dad," he answered gruffly.

"You are _not_ in Pennsylvania with Levi and your dad," she stated, fishing again, her eyes wide and innocent. She batted her eyelashes. Jethro glared at her.

"She hasn't seen 'im in a few years. Didn't want to get in the way," he stated neutrally.

"Is that Gibbs-speak for 'you-and-your-father-have-issues'?" she queried sweetly.

He gave her a look. She looked at him with interest, twirling noodles around her chopsticks. He shrugged.

"Kelly wanted some time out of the city," he said, avoiding the question.

Jenny studied him and then looked at the boat. She nodded, as if to herself, and put what she'd pinched between her utensils in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"She needed to get away," she said, swallowing. "The case wasn't a walk in the park."

"No?" he asked, eating his own take-out while he watched her carefully.

"No, it was kind of like a run through Liberty Heights, barefoot, being chased by two Mexican gangsters with chainsaws and a butch German lesbian named Helga."

Jethro raised his eyebrows at the metaphor. He didn't know whether it was funny or just completely strange. Both, he decided. Something of Abby's creation no doubt.

She looked at him impassively, poking at her food again. Absently, she picked up her jar of bourbon and took a generous drink, closing her eyes briefly before she fluttered them back open.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked calmly, seeing her eyes flicker and flash again. It was like she knew her emotions darted across her eyes and she didn't attempt to hide it, she just didn't talk about it. He wondered what was behind those emotions.

She put a hand dramatically to her heart and stumbled back a little in play.

"Did you just offer to engage in conversation un-coerced, oh Silent One?" she asked, green eyes widened a little in shock.

He shrugged. She cocked an eyebrow as if considering, and then shrugged, picking up the Mason jar again.

"Two little girls were kidnapped, raped, and murdered by their stepfather," she said stoically, not a hint of anything in her voice or eyes. "We found them after their throats were cut. It isn't appropriate dinner conversation, but I do appreciate your offer to listen."

She sounded sincere. She also sounded pissed off, and even marginally guilty, he tentatively decided. No wonder Kelly had been so down over this case. He couldn't imagine. He didn't question her, but he didn't look away from her, either.

There was silence for a few moments before he asked, without sounding like he was pressuring her:

"You get the bastard?"

"Your damn right I did," she said sharply, taking a slow drink of bourbon. "Right between the eyes," she murmured.

He nodded once, and she smiled sardonically against the rim of her Mason jar.

"He was one I was oh so glad gave me a reason to pull the trigger. Pulled a Glock 9 on McGee."

She seemed to be talking to herself now. She swallowed another mouthful, then held her jar close and glanced up at him through her lashes, wrinkling her nose a little.

"Ah," she sighed. "Nice trick. I hadn't meant to bore you," she said, referring to how she'd talked even after denying she'd wanted to.

"I like the sound of your voice," he said, before he could stop himself. He didn't regret saying it when he saw the pleasantly surprised, flattered look in her green eyes.

"Charming," she commented, taking another bite of her food, her eyes on him.

He smirked, helping himself to his own. It had been an interesting stretch of weeks since he'd met Kelly's boss. There had been their dinner date; the coffee call Kelly was still harassing him about, and the time he'd taken her to work.

Most recent was a meet for drinks he'd initiated while Kelly was at home with a sick Levi, a night that had ended up back at her house. It had been before this case started, and he now knew it was to this mess she had been called away when, that night, her phone rang just as things started to progress from platonic.

And he had not seen her since then.

"I assume Kelly will be at some point returning to the nest," Jenny stated matter-of-factly, looking at him with interest. She smirked as he drew himself back to reality. He nodded.

"Sunday night," he said.

"Sunday night," she repeated. "It is Friday night."

"You get that off a calendar or figure it out by yourself?" he asked.

She ignored him, looking mischievous.

"While the kids are away, shall the adults play?" she asked, tilting her head fetchingly to the side.

If that wasn't a blatant invitation, he didn't know what was. And he wasn't about to turn it down.

"Don't have a spare bedroom," he said, meeting her eyes.

"Wasn't lookin' for one," she answered pointedly.

He smirked.

"Now that we have established where I'll be sleeping tonight," she said delicately, finishing the last bite of her Chinese noodles.

She set her empty take-out box down on the table next to her almost empty jar of bourbon and made her way to the boat, heels clicking. She put her hand on it, examining the hull, the woodwork.

"I want to hear more about this boat," she said quietly, something akin to seduction in her voice.

She ran her hand down it again and turned around, leaning against it lazily. She looked at him mildly across the basement, watching him slowly abandon his food and take a final drink of bourbon.

"Nothing to tell," he said gruffly.

"Everything has a story to tell," she commented, arching a perfect brow. "Though I am not surprised that your boat possesses the same silent mystery as its enigmatic crafter."

He smiled at the dig and picked up his sander from behind him, coming forward towards her. He stopped close to her, and when he lifted his arm to reach behind her she caught her breath subtly, because he brushed against her lightly, teasingly, before he retrieved what he was looking for and held it up between them. God, he was so close.

He was holding a second sander.

"Can't tell a story if it's not finished," he said.

"Or sail a boat," she pointed out, inclining her head. She smiled and reached up, taking the sander in elegant fingers and slipping it over her petite knuckles.

"Turn around," he instructed firmly.

"Kinky," she stated forwardly, as she complied.

He smirked and reached for her other arm, positioning it over the sander accurately and effectively showing her how to hold it properly. He stepped up closer behind her, setting his own sander on the boat to be forgotten.

He pushed her hands up gently, adjusting his head over her shoulder so his line of sight was clear from her red hair.

"The woodwork is soothing," he murmured, his hand covering hers as he moved the sander again, showing her. "You get a feel for it," he said, "learn to appreciate the wood," he kept schooling her, his hands touching hers more than strictly necessary.

She moved her hands back, pulling the sander experimentally, and he stopped her firmly, moving her hand the right way again, guiding.

"_With_ the grain of the wood," he told her.

He took on hand off of hers and rested it on her shoulder, pulling her body back into him a little. He watched her listen to his instruction, her movements fluid, and breathed in the scent of her hair; intoxicating and spicy.

She seemed to catch on, her movements more confident. He removed his other hand, his gaze on her arms, and rested it on her other shoulder, touching her, exploratory. He swept her long hair off of her neck and ran his index finger down the vein lightly, his lips following the feather-like touch.

He felt the shiver run through her.

Her hands stopped moving and she turned her head towards him a fraction of an inch.

"Would this be your one-of-a-kind, unique, personal brand of foreplay, Jethro?" she queried in a low voice, and he was reminded acutely of how much he liked the way she talked.

He smiled against her neck, placing an answering kiss below her ear. He took the thin sweater she was wearing and slipped it back over her shoulders, tossing it onto the boat. She remained still, her hands out in front of her, exposing her neck to him.

The light, silver chain of her necklace was present as always, the broken, chipped dog tag nestled between her breasts.

He paused briefly with his mouth against her throat to let his eyes roam the bare expanses of skin he'd revealed by removing the sweater. A simple, white tank top was all she wore under it. The swell of her breasts and the dip of her cleavage were prominent in it, inviting.

He let his hand fall lightly from her shoulder, brushing against the curve of her breast. He rested it against her hip, inching the soft material of her shirt up, pressing his thumb against her warm skin.

She shifted fractionally, pressing back into him, her head falling comfortably to his shoulder. He pressed circles into her hip with his thumb, grazing the skin below the waist of her jeans teasingly. His teeth grazed her carotid artery and his lips followed, slow and languid.

He gauged his success by the increasingly shallow draw of her breath.

He lifted his head to look at her and her eyes were wide, relaxed; she met his indolently, with mild mischief. He kissed her with less restraint than usual—there was no need for it here—his tongue tracing the pout of her lips, tasting her.

"You mentioned a bedroom," she said, arching her eyebrow, her words a soft vibration against his lips.

"Yeah," he drawled, watching her intently.

She reached for his hand, ran her hand over his knuckles, and removed it from her gently, pulling him with a coquettish smirk towards the stairs. Leading him in his own damn house. He was still deciding if he liked that.

Jenny let go of his hand on the stairs, casting a look to him over her scantily clad shoulder. His eyes met hers and trailed to the loose bra strap that was slipping over her shoulder past the tank top's straps. She smirked and turned around, her hand grasping the door frame of the basement as she exited.

Past Levi's toys strewn in the living room. Past Kelly's tightly shut bedroom door and Levi's wide open one. She entered his bedroom and he followed, pausing in the door way. She turned and backed towards the bed. He watched, eyes lingering on her curves, imagination churning.

It had been a long time since a woman had been in his bed. And this one, he welcomed.

She stood facing him, gracefully nudging her heels off inch by inch. The height difference was dramatic when she removed her stilettos; she was petite.

"Any qualms about sleeping with your daughter's boss?" she asked lightly.

His hands slipped from the frame of the doorway as he approached her. Stepping up in front of her, he shook his head slowly. Jenny tilted her head, smirked lazily, and loosened his belt without a word, snapping it through the hoops deftly and tossing it.

She fell back on the bed, running her foot up his leg to his groin and applying a teasing pressure, her eyes roaming him until she reached his eyes again. She lifted her hand gracefully and crooked a slim finger at him.

"Come hither, Jethro," she coaxed, her request throaty and seductive.

He pushed her foot from his thigh and crawled over her on the bed, his knees planted on either side of her thighs. She wound her small hand into his shirt and pulled him down to her, pressing her mouth to his in a slow, hot kiss that teemed with lust begging to be unbridled.

She pulled him closer to her until she could feel his weight and his muscle pressing into her, keeping her warm. She broke their kiss to catch her breath, drawing it shakily, and he lowered his lips to her throat, attacking.

She closed her eyes, pressing her head back into his bed. Carefully of hurting her, his hands were at her waist, pushing the snug cotton of her top upwards until he pulled it over her head adroitly.

She felt him looking at her and opened her eyes, watching, giving him the brief moment. He splayed his strong hand over her shoulder and dragged it down, curving his palm around her breast. Jenny drew her breath in between her teeth.

She returned his favor and divested him of his shirt, pulling him close to her again, seeking his warmth and the hard, taut muscles of his chest. He felt good. She had been right in thinking he'd be good with his hands.

She pressed her mouth to his throat, wrapping her hand around his bicep and squeezing. She bit gently into his neck, soothing the spot with her tongue and sucking gently, angling at leaving a mark.

Jethro found the clasp of her bra conveniently in the front, a snug link, and he unclipped it, pushing the straps gently off her shoulders. She shrugged out of it and arched toward the touch of his hand, her breath audibly catching in her throat.

His touch was teasing, arousing, just short of satisfying, and when he followed the path of his hands with her mouth she moaned in his ear, her lips slipping against his skin. She drew her nails down his arm faintly. He ground his hips against hers, his jeans uncomfortably tight around his groin, marking her with his kiss.

Jethro trailed his hand over her abdomen heavily, feeling the muscles tighten, stopping to unfasten the button on her jeans. She pushed them down over her hips and he dropped them to the floor, lingering at the piece of lace that was her last defense.

She leaned up, her eyes meeting his, dark with desire, fierce. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, tangled, beautiful. She watched him, waited, and he deliberately slid the panties from her, abandoning them to the floor.

He caressed the inside of her thigh, his eyes on her. Jenny's eyes fluttered and she bit her lip, her muscles tense, anticipating. He brushed against her centre, watching the flush colour her body. She whimpered, a sound in the back of her throat, and he leaned over her to kiss her stomach slowly, nipping her skin. He slipped a finger inside her, then another.

"God."

She moaned, eyes falling closed, her lips parted. He felt her nails against his shoulder, scratching, grasping, and holding onto him. He kissed lower to her navel, learning her body, feeling for what she liked.

He could feel her muscles contract, feel her holding back, and his first thought was _Damn, she's easy_. He looked up to watch her, her head bowed, hand twisted in the bed cover, shaking slightly.

He took his fingers from her and was met with a sigh, a whimper of protest. She pulled him toward her, urgent, insistent, rolling to her side to reach for his jeans. She drew them down, boxers too, her hands sure and firm, brushing against him, touching him in all the right ways.

She pulled him to her and kissed his mouth, all tongue and teeth, hot and demanding, and this was the Jenny whose eyes sparkled with sarcasm and fire, this was the Jenny who walked into his basement like she owned it.

He pushed her back on the bed, pinning her again. He was done with the games. She arched into him and wound her leg around his, flipping him over, settling her light weight on his hips. He groaned at the feel of her on him, her hands on him.

Jenny lowered her mouth to his chest, trailing open-mouthed kisses down his sternum, tracing abdominal muscles with her tongue, and he reached up to tangle a hand into her long hair, his other wrapping firmly around her arm and pulling her under him again.

She moaned as he thrust against her, teasing the nerves, tugging at her hair to bring her mouth to his again. She wrapped her long, lithe leg around his waist, the other pressing into his thigh. He slipped into her, groaning, the contact electric.

"Jen."

His stomach clenched. She was warm; tight. Christ, she felt good.

He drew back and pushed into her again, burying himself in her. He enjoyed her moan of satisfaction, the cry that escaped her eloquent mouth. He drew her lips to his, his tongue meeting hers, keeping her close as he moved in her, his arm shaking slightly in support.

"Let me know," he told her, his voice low, husky. He pressed his forehead into hers.

She groaned, her muscles clenching, the heat in her stomach stirring and spreading through her. He was just shy of what she wanted, what she needed.

"Jethro," she gasped. She dug her heel into his back, running her hand over his back, feeling his muscle, his movement. "_Harder_."

"Jen," his rhythm was hard, urgent. She kissed him again, moaning, gasping. "God," he groaned.

She pulled him flush against her, biting down hard on her lip. He felt her convulse around him, tighten, and she murmured, her pristine vocabulary failing her as the orgasm wracked her body, elicited a sharp cry.

He let himself go as she came, his pace erratic, his shoulders shuddering as he found his release deep inside her.

The feeling was intense and consuming as he held her, his breathing harsh, listening to her. There were no articulate, mocking words from her, no sarcasm, there were just no words to be said.

There was just the sensitized, heightened rush of the aftermath, and a palpable connection, both emotional and physical.

* * *

She woke him up moving in the middle of the night.

Half-asleep, he looked over at her, squinting. She had been close to him, collapsed on top of him hours ago after making love again, and now she was sleeping alone, tangled in sheets. She turned her head, distress etched on the lines of her face.

He leaned up, looking at her.

She tossed again, clenching her fists. Her lips moved, but he heard nothing, saw only the formation of words whose sounds died before they were spoken.

Silently, he reached over and stroked her brow, pushing damp, tangled hair away from her face. She looked angelic when she slept. Angelic and somehow, troubled. She drew in her breath and he ran his hand over her arm comfortingly.

She rolled towards him, her fitful movements slowing. He lay back down, closing his eyes, satisfied that she wasn't having a nightmare anymore.

He wondered what haunted her dreams.

* * *

Jennifer Shepard splashed water on her face early in the morning, looking impassively at her reflection in the clean mirror. There was an ensuite bathroom in his bedroom, yet she'd stumbled to what she assumed was Kelly's anyway, seeking a more feminine atmosphere.

Her lips were swollen, she noticed, as she touched them, smirking a little. Make-up smeared, though not too badly—the water had done more damage than the sex. Her hair was on the scary side of tangled but she had always liked it messy.

It was early. She couldn't sleep. She never could. Jethro was asleep.

Biting her lower lip gently, she touched the necklace at her throat, her fingers tracing the ridge of the broken dog tag. Men usually asked about it. Jethro had not.

She didn't feel like a morning run. She was too sated from last night, too languid and relaxed. She felt better than she had in months, maybe years, and it was inexplicable, yet it made perfect sense. She felt all right with Jethro.

She slipped her fingers through her hair and doused the bathroom light, leaving it. She rubbed her shoulders absently, cold in only her lace panties and the tank top she'd worn over. There were things in her car that she'd brought, but she didn't feel the need to get them.

She felt curiously peaceful.

Jenny moseyed into his kitchen, looking around, smiling a little at the toys Levi had left strewn all over. Levi reminded her of better times. She opened the refrigerator and chills hit her. She ignored them, searching for something to cook.

Breakfast seemed like a good idea. If she was famished, he sure as hell was. She knew how men worked.

Eggs were probably a good bet, she decided. She found bacon in the crisper and settled for that as well, figuring out the mechanics of the appliances by glaring at them until she understood their workings.

Her eyes were glazed as she leaned over the counter, watching eggs cook in the skillet, her thoughts a listless jumble. She thought about the case, and dismissed the thoughts. It had been a hard one for Kelly, seeing those little girls slaughtered. Jenny was sure she'd been thinking of her own child at home, the same age.

Her team didn't know how hard it was for her. They knew how much she hated the criminals who dared lay a hand on a child, that was all. It wasn't their fault, it was hers. She had never told them. She hoped Kelly was finding her peace in Pennsylvania.

Her impeccably trained hearing was the only reason she heard him sneaking up on her. He never made a sound as he moved, silent as the grave physically and emotionally.

She smirked lazily as she turned, looking at him appraisingly.

He was clad simply in his wrinkled jeans from yesterday, his hair mussed.

"Morning, Cowboy," she greeted silkily. Her head spun with memories of the night. She was infinitely glad she'd decided to drop in on him. Finding the house empty of his dependents was a pleasing bonus.

"Jen," he returned, approaching her. He reached out to touch her hip, pulling her towards him a little.

She hooked her fingers through his belt loops, agreeably surprised that there was no morning-after awkwardness to speak of. He kissed the corner of her mouth in greeting and she smiled. Jethro looked over her shoulder, interested, and sniffed the air.

"You cook," he stated obviously.

"You could be a marine or something with those observational skills," she responded promptly, earning a light glare from him.

"Housewife-ish of you," he commented slyly, watching her eyes narrow challengingly. "Smells good."

"Oh, saved by the flattery," she mocked, reaching up to pat his cheek patronizingly. "Wait until you taste it," she bribed.

She was aware she was a good cook. He smirked and turned to the fridge, brushing his knuckles against her cheek as he left her. He opened it and retrieved a carton of orange juice, popping it open.

"Might have to keep you around if you're gonna cook me breakfast," he said, pouring himself a glass, offering her one. She nodded, lifting a brow at him.

"It is the very least I can do," she sighed dramatically. A satisfied smirk crept over her lips. "I do believe you're in need of sustenance after your performance last night."

He took a slow sip of the juice and smirked, enjoying the easy morning banter. Something had half prepared him for her to be gone when he woke up, not hanging out in the kitchen in her clingy tank top and panties.

"Scrambled or sunny side up?" she asked swiftly, turning her back as the pan sizzled.

"Scrambled," he answered slowly, his eyes traveling over her curves from behind.

He found himself glad she was here. He had slept better last night than he had in a while and, he noticed now, he hadn't spent any time comparing her to Shannon. Or, unnervingly enough, thinking of Shannon.

She was just _Jen_ in his eyes.

"Who usually does the cooking around here?"

"Me," he grunted, daring her to say something snarky. She didn't let him down.

"Housewife-ish," she mimicked, sniffing loftily. She threw a teasing glance over her shoulder at him. "You have not yet ceased to impress me, Jethro."

She fell silent and tilted her head thoughtfully, scrambling the eggs.

"But I wonder," she mused slowly. "Are you a _good_ cook?"

"Kelly's still alive," he pointed out bluntly. Jenny snickered.

"A valid point," she conceded. "Not good enough. As your offspring, she depended on you for food, and being able to get it nowhere else, would have eaten what you gave her despite taste. My curiosity is not satisfied."

"This your way of asking me to cook you dinner?" he asked mildly.

She gave him a wide-eyed look.

"You would do that for me?" she chirped, as if she hadn't just practically ordered him to.

"Eh, I guess you deserve it."

"You sweet-talker, you," she responded sarcastically, flashing him a smile.

They ate a casual breakfast, moving around, mostly in silence. Enjoying the morning. Jenny opened the blinds in the living room, making him blink in the sun and wonder why women constantly liked to have the sun shining everywhere.

"No work this weekend?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually, I'm supposed to be at work right now. I just skived off to have a sleepover at your house," she responded, rolling her eyes at his question. She closed her mouth over her fork and smirked.

"Sometimes NCIS kicks me out and forbids me to come back for a few days," she said matter-of-factly, "It seems my chipper, winning personality grates on the nerves of even our lovely director."

"Who would think?" he asked smartly, earning a lifted eyebrow in response. She looked at him closely and smiled dangerously.

She set her plate down neatly in the sink and placed her palms on the counter behind her, hopping up onto it gracefully and cocking her head at him. She seemed to draw him towards her with his eyes; the finger she crooked was hardly necessary.

He stepped up close to her and she intertwined her bare legs with his jean-clad ones. He rested his hands on her hips, his fingers pushing cotton out of the way to touch her warm skin.

"You have a smart mouth, Jethro," she said, her stunning green eyes capturing his coquettishly.

He reached up and drew his thumb across her bottom lip, quieting her serpentine tongue.

"Yours is sinful," he murmured appreciatively, his head moving close to hers. He slowly moved his hand up her cheek and tangled it back into her hair gently, tilting her head back a little, his hand brushing the inside of her thigh.

"Those hands of yours aren't too saintly," she pointed huskily, her alto voice low in her throat again.

"Mmmm," she met his lips with a quiet moan, keeping her hands to herself while they kissed. He coaxed her mouth open; she sucked gently on his bottom lip, teeth grazing him fractionally. It was a slow kiss, lackadaisical in nature.

"Holy smokes," she quipped, arching an eyebrow lazily.

He stood there, looking at her, still enjoying the feel of her lips on his, and he decided he didn't want her to go home. He wanted to, as he'd crassly stated , 'keep her around' for a while.

"Got an idea," he said, his hand slipping through her messy locks to the back of her neck, massaging her tenderly.

"Oh?" she breathed, curious. "I am overwhelmed with the atmosphere of intrigue you create."

"You know how to ride?" he asked.

Jenny smiled indulgently, and parted her lips. She cut her eyes demurely and glanced at him through her thick lashes, smirking.

"I think we've established that I can ride—_ah_," she broke off suddenly, with an air of innocence. "You meant on a horse."

He smirked at the double entendre.

"On a horse," he confirmed with a salacious grin.

"Naturally," she straightened up a little, demurely. "Whatever else would you mean?" she smiled wickedly and pressed her palm against his chest. "I can ride those too," she confirmed.

"How well?" he asked skeptically.

"Colour me competitive, but if I don't hear a challenge in that…" she drawled, giving him a fierce look.

"There are stables—"

"—in Rock Creek Park," she finished coolly, nodding. Her wide, alluring eyes held his expectantly, brimming with mirth. Waiting.

"What do you say to a trail ride?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

She looked impressed by the invite.

"I'm game," she agreed, leaning back, supporting herself with her palms on the cold counter top. She licked her lips and tilted her head at him, her hair tumbling over her shoulder like a red waterfall.

She smirked at him.

"Got a request," she said slowly, and smiled as she re-thought her statement. "No, a demand."

"Yeah, Jen?"

"Let me drive the truck."

He snorted, and grinned at her, eyes roaming her attractive face and her enchanting eyes. He was finding it harder not to smile in her presence—and, he grumbled, as he heard himself answer her, harder to say 'no'

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not surprised that Jenny could command a horse without hardly lifting a finger. He had been slightly surprised that she drove like a bat out of hell, but that had just amused him.

It was a warm day, sunny enough to make him squint considerably. She'd done the smart thing and worn chic sunglasses, adorning her head with a tattered NCIS cap she rummaged out of her car.

He liked looking at her in it. He particularly like the old t-shirt she'd borrowed from him, not wanting to wear her nicer things to ride a horse half the day.

"Hey, lover," the object of his staring shouted, attracting his attention. She maneuvered her horse around deftly in front of his, blocking his way. "Catch," she ordered, plucking her hat off of her head and tossing it to him.

He obeyed, catching it and looking at the frayed material. It was a little muddy, a little torn, and there was a bullet hole through the brim. He looked at her, raising a brow.

"Put it on," she offered, "you'll be able to ogle me better if the sun's not obstructing your view."

"Any reason for the nine millimeter hole in the brim?"

"Ventilation," she answered slowly, with a smirk. "And yes, I am impressed with your knowledge of bullets.

She flashed a smile at him and kicked the horse lightly, resuming her ride.

It was a more open ride now. They were out of the park and down towards the beach where he used to ride with Shannon and Kelly, and then just Kelly, after Shannon's murder. Except he wasn't thinking about Shannon. Not like he _usually_ did—in a way, he was always thinking of Shannon.

He wondered vaguely if Jenny knew anything about Shannon. She was an NCIS agent, and very well might have done extensive background on Kelly. Or Kelly might have told her, since they got on so well. It was just on his mind because usually, women questioned him more about Kelly's mother.

Single fathers were apparently a fascinating novelty to them.

"Jethro," Jenny sing-songed brightly, "I'm about to start a conversation. This is your warning. You may contribute to it or simply continue to glare at me," she paused, and glanced at him slyly, "Support of said conversation is preferred."

"Noted," he responded.

"Single fatherhood," she stated. "How did that work for you in this modern world?"

He blinked at her. He was going to have to add mind reader to the list of Jenny Shepard's intriguing capabilities.

"Awkwardly," was his gruff choice of response. If he was ever going to talk to her about Shannon, he wasn't going to do it now, and talking about Kelly's childhood was treading dangerous waters.

Jenny laughed.

"Awkward? Not rewarding, or heartwarming?" she tilted her head. "How awkward?"

"Have you ever tried hosting a tenth birthday slumber party for ten girls _not_ including your own?"

"Can't say I have."

"Bra shopping?" he asked.

She groaned.

"Nah, but I had to go with my dad. You have my deepest sympathies."

He scowled. That experience was top five on his list of Most Unpleasant Kelly-Raising Moments.

"Ever embarrass the hell out of her?" Jenny queried.

"No," he answered indignantly.

Jenny glanced, and raised her eyebrows.

"Well…"

"That's what I thought," she snickered. "What, pray tell, did you do?"

"I _might_ have cold-cocked her boyfriend when she was—"

"Seventeen," Jenny interrupted. She turned the horse, circled it around his, and let it fall into step next to him, clicking her tongue softly. "She told me about that," Jenny said, "And you didn't embarrass her."

Jethro looked at her impassively.

"That explains why she just started crying instead of yelling," he muttered.

"She told that guy _no_, Jethro," Jenny said. "He wouldn't let her out of the car."

Jethro gave her a hard look. Kelly hadn't told him that, and even though it was years ago now, he was pissed to hear about it.

"I knew I should have killed him," he growled seriously.

"Don't worry," Jenny said mildly, "I already offered. Federal agency at my disposal, and all. She didn't want him dead. She did, however, find out he works at McDonald's."

Jenny smirked. Jethro smiled tightly. Now he just had to find out which McDonald's and kill the bastard.

"As chivalrous as that particular incident was, Jethro," Jenny continued, turning her attention back to the landscape in front of them, "It by no means lets you off the hook. I am quite sure there were plenty of other horrifically embarrassing things done by you."

Jethro looked affronted.

Jenny lifted her eyebrows.

"Maybe," he grumbled, and she smiled. "But Kelly isn't little miss innocent," he added in a growl.

"Yeah, figured that out myself," she said, giving him a mysterious look.

"I don't want to know what that means," he muttered darkly.

"No," she agreed, "I wouldn't tell you for the world," she paused and smiled wickedly, her hands tightening on the reins. "I might if you win this race though," she coaxed, and kicked her horse into a gallop.

He smirked, and took off after her.

She was laughing when she caught up to him halfway down the beach, her eyes wide, and bright, and playfully indignant.

"You beat me!" she accused, easing her horse into a walk with a firm grip on the reins. Jethro patted his horse triumphantly on the neck, scratching it between its velvety ears.

"It was a race, you think you were gonna win?" he retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Did your mother never teach you to _let_ a lady win?" she asked smartly, tossing her head fetchingly.

"Don't see a lady," he answered innocently.

"Aren't you clever?" she commented teasingly, she soothed her horse to a stop and reached up to let her hair down, shaking it over her shoulders and sliding the band over her wrist fluidly. She looked at him and let go of the reins, trusting the horse. "I like you, Jethro."

"Yeah," he said solemnly. "Abby told me."

"That spoilsport," Jenny muttered, looking at him intently.

She removed her foot from the stirrup and rested it on his thigh smirking impishly. She had jeans tucked into crime scene boots, more appropriate for a ride than high heels.

She leaned forward, her lips pursed, and her phone went off like a siren.

Jenny paused, took it from her belt, and flicked it open, holding it against her ear.

"Hi," she greeted brightly, "You've reached Jenny Shepard. This is me being unreachable," she informed, closing the phone quickly.

He smiled, and she leaned forward and kissed him, smiling herself.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had decided by the end of the weekend that he was definitely going to keep Jenny around.

She was remarkable. She was relaxed and funny. She had hung around all weekend, and yet he didn't feel stifled or cornered by her. There had been times when she'd wandered off alone, or just sat and watched him work on the boat.

"Adding to the list of things discovered and or established this weekend," she began to announce dramatically, "You, LeroyJethro, do in fact _bite_," she held up her injured thumb, and showed him the teeth marks there. "Contrary to what little Kelly assured me."

He reached for her as she sauntered into the living room from the hall, her hair still damp from a shower. He smirked and pushed her thumb away from her face.

"Defense mechanism," he grunted, pulling her back towards the couch.

She put her forehead against his and cocked her eyebrow wickedly.

"Didn't sound like you were in pain," she purred, puckering her lips. "_Ahhh_, _Jen_," she mimicked, drawing it out.

He glared at the breathy imitation and kept walking back until he stumbled over one of Levi's badly placed toys. He landed unceremoniously on the couch with her sprawled in his lap, chuckling good-naturedly.

"Suave move, Twinkle Toes," she mocked, content to remain sprawled over him. She shifted so her head was in his lap and looked up at him unblinkingly, one of her arms above her head, threading in her hair absently.

"Work tomorrow?" Jethro asked.

"Bright and early," she responded neutrally. "So you can have your bed back tonight." she added, smirking. He frowned. "When are you expecting Kelly?"

He shrugged, glanced at his watch.

"It'll take her…three hours to drive back, about. Six, seven?" he answered, unconcerned.

Jenny continued to look at him. She was always looking at him.

"Will she be upset if she finds me here?" Jenny asked considerately.

He thought about it briefly. Kelly had never said a word against him dating, though she'd been vociferously opinionated about _whom_ he dated. She had asked him, once or twice, why he couldn't get over Shannon.

"Nah," he answered shortly.

She looked at him for a minute and shifted her head, making herself more comfortable on his legs. He drew his fingers down the side of her face and over her lips gently, letting them fall to her neck.

She was wearing that necklace again.

She met his eyes again as he touched it, letting the thin chain slip through his fingers until he was holding the broken dog tag and turning it over in his palm. It was burnt, hardly legible, yet he made out a 'J' on it, and other faint letters, and the end of a military ID number.

"You ex-Navy?" he asked, recognizing the order of the information barely visible on it.

Slowly she shook her head, and then took the tag from him, tucking it back into her shirt where it couldn't be seen.

"To avoid any disturbance of the peace," she said a little sharply, "I'll go ahead and tell you that's the last question you'll ask about it."

He considered her for a moment, his eyes narrowing, about to ask her anyway. Then he remembered what he hadn't told her. Fine. People had secrets.

"Fair enough," he said pointedly, quietly, and she gave him a searching look.

She turned her eyes to the ceiling, and suddenly looked miles away. Her emerald orbs looked glassy and wet. Sensing there'd been a shift in her demeanor, he rested a hand on her thigh and leaned back, tilting his head back against the couch.

Something told him to back off, that she wasn't warning him off inquiring to be mysterious but because she didn't talk about whatever _it_ was.

Jenny moved again and he felt her slip her arm around him. Looking down, he noticed she'd closed her eyes and curled up, breathing evenly. It didn't surprise him she was tired. The woman went to bed late, got up early, and didn't seem to sleep well in between.

He hesitated scarcely before resting his hand in her hair and combing through it methodically.

He didn't remember falling asleep when something woke him up. Blinking groggily, only to realize it was dark, and the only light was coming faintly from the kitchen, he looked around.

"_Levi_," he heard the commanding whisper and looked in front of him to find what had woke him up. Levi was leaning against his knee, smiling, and pointing at Jenny.

"Shh," Levi whispered, putting a finger to his lips.

Jethro nodded, reaching up gingerly to run his hand over his face; he yawned.

"Levi, _don't_ wake them _up_," he heard, and Kelly tip-toed in with his little duffle bag in her hands, and looked at him in dismay when she saw he had. She dropped the bag and shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, Dad," she said with a wince.

He waved a hand to indicate it was okay, trying to get his wits about him. He looked at his watch; it was almost seven. Levi reached out and touched Jenny's face, stroking her eyebrows.

"Levi!" hissed Jethro and Kelly at the same time.

Jenny grabbed his hand with cat-like reflexes, her eyes startling open. She let out her breath slowly and released his hand.

"_Levi_," she sighed, sounding distressed and relieved at the same time. Levi giggled.

"Jen-neee," he greeted, beaming.

She sat up. Kelly turned the light on and marched forward. She gave Levi a stern look, took him by the shoulders, and began marching him towards his bag.

"We're going to have a talk about the meaning of the phrase 'Don't do that', young man," she muttered, pointing to his duffle, "Take that, sort the clothes, and get ready for bed. School tomorrow," she ordered, crossing her arms.

"_Idontwanna_," he whined, kicking the bag. "I want play with Gunny!"

"Go," Kelly ordered calmly, and he began grumbling and dragging the bag down the hall obediently.

Jenny blinked as she sat up full, pushing her hair back and adjusting to the light. Kelly leaned against the wall and looked at them neutrally.

"Have a nice weekend, kids?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"We're too drunk to remember," Jenny responded easily, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at Kelly. "That," she stated, pointing, "Is a Tony DiNozzo patented leer, and you'll have to pay royalties on it."

Kelly laughed and pushed off the wall. Jenny stood up. She turned to Jethro and jerked her thumb at Kelly.

"She's my cue to leave," she said smartly, "You gonna continue with your gentlemanly chauvinism and walk me to the door?"

"Don't rush out on my account," Kelly said, sitting down on the edge of an arm chair, "I brought take-out home, if you're hungry," she offered nicely.

Jenny arched an eyebrow at Jethro, amused.

"Why'd you do that, sweetie?" she asked. "Didn't you know your father can cook?" she teased complimentarily, her eyes sparkling.

Kelly smiled and nodded in agreement as Jethro stood up, tilting his head towards the door. Jenny gave him a superior look as she brushed past him, and Kelly met his eyes with a smirk as he turned and left, glaring at her over his shoulder to follow Jenny to the door.

"Your things," he muttered, as she touched the handle. Her nicer shirt in the bedroom, some other stuff she'd had in a night bag from her car in other places.

She shrugged.

"I figure I'll see you again, get them back," she said casually, "You know."

"Maybe," he quipped.

"Someday," she agreed, smirking mysteriously.

She opened the door and then paused, giving him a thoughtful look.

"Might be a good idea to take my keys, though," she said hoarsely, looking sheepish. He snorted and retreated to get them from the basement where they'd been left, grabbing her purse as well. He handed them back to her. She inclined her head.

"My thanks, good sir," she said cheekily.

He gave her a swift kiss on the mouth and she squeezed his shoulder promisingly, smirking and biting her lip as she pulled the door shut. He locked it, and turned around to find Kelly peeking conspicuously into the hall.

He glared.

She smiled a small smile and waited for him to walk into the kitchen where the food she'd brought home was. He began to poke around in it.

"Daddy—" she began softly, but he interrupted.

"How's ol' Dad?' he asked a little sarcastically, referring to Jackson Gibbs.

Kelly rolled her eyes.

"He's happy as a clam," Kelly informed, "As comical and blunt as ever. Wants me to tell you that your handwriting still looks girly on the Christmas cards."

Jethro rolled his eyes and pulled a pair of chopsticks from their plastic, giving Kelly a disdainful look. She just returned it, as if ordering him to talk to his father.

"Dad," she began again, as if she was walking on thin ice.

"What, Kelly?" He asked.

"Did she stay the night?"

He just looked at Kelly. She waited for an answer expectantly. She didn't look bothered by it, and he wasn't going to give _details_ to his _daughter_ if she was just interested in gossip. Kelly apparently took his silence for something else.

"She stay _all_ weekend?" she revised her question, brow going up a little.

"Kel," he started warningly, but was saved by the four-year-old. He let out a relieved breath and turned back to the food.

"All done, Mom," Levi yelled. He looked around. "Where did Jen-neee go?" he asked.

"_Miss_ Jenny went home," Kelly answered, giving him a reprimanding look. "Go sit down, Granpa's getting your chicken," she said.

Jethro looked down at Levi.

"Why is he so dirty?" he asked curiously.

Levi was covered in mud. He had a few scratches on his knees and his hair was a mess, not to mention his clothing. Jethro hadn't noticed in the dark. Levi wandered around in the kitchen, playing with refrigerator magnets, until he listened to Kelly and went to climb into a seat.

"Oh, he was out playing in that shed with Grandad," Kelly answered, rolling her eyes, "Working on that damn car."

"That is my car," Jethro grumbled darkly.

"Yeah, you say that every time."

"I want my car," he grunted.

"Why? It is a hideous hunk of metal," Kelly said innocently.

He glared at her.

She glared back, and then swept a box of take-out from his hands and started rationing it onto a plate for Levi.

"And you failed to change the subject, Dad," she added, glancing at him, letting him know he wasn't off the hook in the Jenny conversation.

He shrugged. He handed her an eggroll for Levi and then went to the fridge to get a juice box or something for the kid.

"Mommy," Levi piped up interestedly, "Will Jen-neee come over again?"

"I'm sure she will, sweetheart," Kelly answered absently, staring at Jethro unnervingly when he closed the fridge and turned back around.

Levi bounced excitedly; always happy to have company to whom he could show his entire toy collection.

"This thing with you and Jenny, then," Kelly probed. "It's going somewhere?"

"That a problem, Kel?" he asked, a little defensively.

He didn't like being questioned like this. When she was little she had liked to interrogate the women, not him. It was easier when she was demanding the females play with her than when she was watching him like a hawk.

"No," she said softly. She shrugged and picked up Levi's plate, then taking the juice box from Jethro. She looked thoughtful, and smiled a little. "I just…haven't seen you look at a woman like that since Mom."

She left, and he looked into the dining area, watching her smile and sit down to supervise Levi's eating. He looked down at the food in front of him and considered what she'd said. There hadn't _really_ been anyone since Shannon worth much second thought from him. He was relieved Kelly seemed content with it.

Because Jenny was definitely someone he wanted to more than _consider_.

* * *

_...Ah, surely you know that cute little A/N at the beginning was nothing to be taken to heart? Hell, I waited five chapters to *write* the damn smut.  
Alexandra_


	7. 6

_A/N: Watched "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" solely to hear John Wayne state: 'Never say your sorry. It's a sign of weakness'. How fitting; as that line is in this chapter:)_

* * *

It was a slow day at the Marine Recruitment office. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was perusing the new pamphlets the Corp had printed, deciding if he liked them or not. So far he had figured out they had not really changed much since he'd joined up.

It was hot in the office. The glass windows were letting the sun shine right in, and the weather was getting steadily warmer as DC moved towards summer. He didn't mind the heat generally, but it was a nuisance when he was constricted in uniform.

It was still early, almost eleven hundred. He'd dropped Levi off at Preschool this morning, listening to him chatter nonstop about a field trip to the zoo. Kelly had gone into NCIS early to do paperwork. At least that's what she told him. He didn't think paperwork was really important enough to do at five in the morning.

The annoying bell on the door jingled and Jethro looked up, expecting a teenager with baggy jeans or a backwards cap to walk in. It was actually quite the opposite. He leaned back in his chair and smiled lazily as Jenny Shepard waltzed in.

"Come to enlist?" he asked.

She laughed lightly.

"I wouldn't shoot the Marine Corp in the head," she teased, looking around the room. She grasped the back of a chair by the wall and swung it around, pulling it up to the desk. She straddled it, her arms resting loosely over the back.

He flicked his eyes over her appreciatively. She had khaki slacks on and a dark purple tank top. He assumed the rest of the outfit had been left somewhere else. Her hair was drawn back messily and her make-up was smeared from what looked like sweat.

"Hot, Jen?" he asked mildly.

"Why, Jethro, I'm flattered," she responded, cocking her eyebrow. She grinned and tapped the straw of the drink she was holding against her lips and he gave her a curious look.

"Casual Tuesday?" he guessed, gesturing at her unprofessional attire. She glanced down and quirked the corners of her lips up at herself, looking back up and shaking at her finger at him for looking.

"The air conditioning at NCIS died loudly and tragically early this morning," Jenny lamented, giving a solemn bow of her head. "I escaped the fiery inferno that it has now morphed into."

"Using what excuse?" he asked skeptically. She looked quite proud of herself and pointed at the plastic cup in her hand.

"I'm getting coffee." Miles away from the coffee shope five steps from NCIS.

He snorted, and looked suspiciously at the cup. She was drinking it through a straw. He gave her a look. You didn't drink coffee through a straw.

"I see you eyeing my coffee as if you are going to interrogate it," she noted, giving him an interested look. "Are you?"

He looked up at her.

"Doesn't look like coffee," he informed her.

"Since you asked so nicely, I'll introduce it," she said, with a slight roll of her eyes. "It is a Jamaican blend frappucino with two extra shots of espresso and hazelnut-vanilla syrup," she paused, noticed his blank expression, and revised her statement. "Iced coffee."

Jethro now felt very suspicious of this so-called '_coffee'_.

"Iced…coffee…_what_?" he asked, glaring at her.

She bit down on the straw and took a sip, raising her eyebrows at him.

"It's possible that you spend too much time in your basement, Cowboy," she informed him, holding up the drink. "The Iced Coffee," she began formally, "is a novel creation of chilly magnitude. It makes coffee in the hottest of summer possible," she cut her eyes at him and smirked when she noticed his glare. "To use layman's terms, it's like a coffee smoothie."

He glared at her and she got up gracefully and sauntered around the desk he sat at, perching in front of him on the edge of it.

"You educate me on woodwork, I educate you on the newfangled invention that is frappucino," she quipped, tilting the straw towards him. "Taste."

"No," he refused sternly.

"It wasn't a request," she said, inching the drink towards him.

"Get that away from me, Jen."

She looked highly amused.

"It intrigues me that you're so frightened of the coffee—"

"I have rules about coffee!" he protested seriously.

She glared at him and hit him in the mouth with her straw. He clamped his lips shut and gave her the worst glare he could muster. She giggled, and the next thing he knew she was in his lap, her eyes inches from his, fluttering prettily.

"I'll make it up to you if you don't like it," she coaxed, tapping his lips.

He made a show of reluctantly taking a sip, grumbling. He made a face as he swallowed, shuddering.

"That is not coffee."

"No?"

"No," he said firmly. He glared at her. "You owe me."

"Hmm," she agreed, putting her hand on his cheek and tilting her lips towards his mouth. She kissed him and he extracted the cup from her fingers, setting it on the desk and resting his hand on her thigh.

Jenny bit her lip and gave him a mischievous look as she drew back, tilting her head at him. She ran her hand lightly down his chest, her fingers brushing against buttons and uniform ribbons. She flicked her eyes covertly towards the window and stood, letting her fingers ghost across his thighs.

"You have a customer, Marine," she said softly, close to his ear, and he looked over to see the door shutting slowly as a kid walked in looking a little hesitant.

Jethro cleared his throat and sat forward as Jenny straightened up, snatching her coffee thing back and wandering around the desk.

She gave the boy a fetching look and touched him under the chin.

"That's why you join the Marine Corp, honey," she said, shooting a smirk over her shoulder at Jethro as she slipped a hand into her pocket.

The phone she pulled out was glowing, and he could hear the faint buzz of its vibrating. She turned her back, and he heard her answer sharply as he gestured for the kid to sit.

Multitasking, he listened to Jenny's low conversation while he answered the kid's questions about the Corp. She caught his eye as she closed her phone, looked at it for a moment, and then made another call.

He was more focused on the kid, who seemed genuinely serious about getting into the Marines as soon as possible. He was shaking his hand when her harsh, growling voice caught both of their attentions.

"Find out what's going on in Autopsy _now_ Agent Todd!" she ordered, and snapped her phone shut.

Jethro cleared his throat, stood up, and looked at the kid in front of him.

"Any other questions, son?"

"Uh," the kid said, glancing back at him from Jenny. "Is she a drill sergeant?" he asked a little nervously.

Jethro just smirked and handed the kid the information he needed, seeing him off. He looked to Jenny when the door closed and she turned around, the phone in her hand, her arms crossed tightly.

"Problem?" he asked neutrally, studying her.

"I leave them alone for twenty minutes and it all goes to hell," she growled, but her eyes said something else.

She unfolded her arms and squared her shoulders. She picked up her iced coffee from the shelf she'd set it on and gave him a nod, her ponytail swinging.

"I've got to handle this," she informed him, gesturing to her phone. She went towards the door, something completely different about her body language, and he watched her, nodding in acceptance.

Jenny pulled open the glass door, rolling her eyes when the bell jingled at her obnoxiously, and looked him up and down blatantly.

"I'm partial to the uniform, Gunny," she complimented with a smirk.

He smiled and watched her leave. On the street, she was on her phone again in an instant, jerking open her car door as her lips moved quickly. She took off at breakneck speed in the car and he had the sneaking feeling that something had happened.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Jenny Shepard barked as she stormed off the elevator.

It was still hotter than hell in the building and she was unfazed when she noticed her team was practically naked. Tony was, at least. She wasn't sure Magnum PI boxers would cut it on a normal day, but no one seemed to be bothered on this particular one.

Even McGee had his shirt unbuttoned.

Autopsy was on screen in the bullpen. It was a grainy feed but it was _something_. She planted herself in front of it and chucked her coffee into the wastebasket, her eyes narrowing. Ducky, Palmer, and Kelly were visible, along with an unknown male.

"One of you better start talking," she growled, and three voices started at once.

Tony's won out, and he bounded up next to her, the clicker in his hand.

"He infiltrated in a body bag," Tony explained. "Don't know who he is, McGee's running Interpol facial recognition—"

"Ducky called Kelly for the evidence box on the Al-Queada muscleman we brought down last week, Qassam," Kate jumped in, speaking from her desk. "She went down, and Abby came up asking why Ducky was doing an infectious autopsy—"

"What?" Jenny asked sharply, turning to look at her team.

"Yeah," Tony said drily. "That's what we said. Kelly didn't come back; Abby said Duckman sounded weird on the phone. We locked everything down."

Jenny swore and whirled back to the screen, glaring fiercely at it.

"The director?" she barked.

"Following the situation in MTAC," McGee answered abruptly.

"McGee, find out who that bastard is," she ordered, turning to her team, wrenching her sight away from the situation in Autopsy. "I want to know his name when I shoot him."

McGee swallowed and nodded, throwing himself into the task.

"Shep," Tony said. She turned to him, her expression hard. "The guy's doing Ducky's autopsy on is our Al-Queada operative."

Jenny's eyes flickered slightly. Her stomach turned as she thought about the implications. She looked at him silently, considering her options, when a gunshot went off behind her followed by the static buzz of a lost connection.

She swiveled around, her eyes on the now snowy screen.

She could have heart a pin drop; the place had gone so silent.

She set her jaw and took her gun from her desk, jamming the magazine in. Coldly, she turned her eyes on her team and they sprung into action.

"He's mine," she promised darkly, heading for MTAC.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was on his way to pick up Levi from the sitter's house when his cell phone went off. Kelly's best friend Maddie watched Levi for the three or four hours he was out of school on the days Jethro worked the Recruits.

Thinking it was her; he opened the phone and held it to his ear absently.

"He drivin' you crazy, Madelyn?" he drawled good-naturedly.

"Um, Mr.…Sir…Gibbs," mumbled a nervous voice, and his good mood faded a little.

"Yeah?" he asked gruffly.

"This is Agent McGee," the nervous voice said. "Uh, Tim. There—"

"Something happen to Kelly?" Jethro asked tightly, barely avoiding running a red light.

"She's hurt," McGee answered.

"Where are you—she, where is she?" he asked harshly.

"Bethesda Naval Hospital," McGee said a little more confidently.

Jethro hung up the phone, swallowing bracingly. He made a turn on his route to Maddie's place and took off determinedly in the other direction, dialing her number with one hand.

"Hi, Mr. Jethro," her bright voice answered on the first ring. "He's really rambunctious—"

"Maddie," Jethro interrupted quickly.

She fell silent.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a small voice.

"Can you watch him a few more hours?"

"Is Kelly hurt?" Maddie asked.

"I don't know the details," Jethro said gruffly. "Don't worry Levi," he added.

"Sure, whatever you need," Maddie mumbled, and Jethro didn't give her time to say anything else. He hung up, needing both hands to drive as dangerously as he was at the moment. His drive to Bethesda went by in a blur, and more than a few horns were honked at him before he jerked to a stop in a parking spot outside the hospital.

His mouth felt like cotton. He felt like he had when he'd seen his CO's face in Kuwait, right before they told him Shannon was dead. _Gunny, sit down…your wife…_

He swallowed and shook his head, gritting his teeth as he entered the hospital, his keys still in his hand. He had barely entered the emergency room waiting area when his vision was obscured by a tearful mass throwing her arms around him.

"Abby," he grunted, staggering back distractedly.

"Gibbs!" she wailed.

"Get off him, Scuito!" ordered another sharply, drawing her away. He looked at her red eyes and she looked at his pale face. Tony DiNozzo pulled her back and stepped between them, giving her a look. "You'll make him thing she's dead," he growled, turning to Gibbs.

"Where is she?" he asked curtly.

"Being treated," Tony answered firmly. Gibbs started the shove past him and DiNozzo grabbed his shoulder. "She took a round to the shoulder. Clean through. She's fine," he offered, and Gibbs nodded.

Agent McGee, and Kelly's friend Kate Todd, moved out of his way as he went down the hall, looking for someone to point him towards Kelly. He saw her in one of the glass-walled treatment rooms, glaring balefully at a doctor who was drawing blood while she answered an older man's questions.

Jethro just barged in the door. The doctor looked up in surprise.

"Dad," Kelly greeted, surprised herself, eyebrows going up.

"Just sit tight, Miss Gibbs," the doctor said, holding up his vial of Kelly's blood. "We'll clear you when the lab results come back."

She nodded and the doctor left the room, giving Jethro a look. Jethro ignored it.

"You didn't have to be so dramatic, Daddy," Kelly rolled her eyes. He didn't answer. He crossed the room and stood in front of her sternly, satisfying himself that she was in fact sitting in front of him alive.

He reached out with one arm and hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

"Daddy," Kelly said quietly, taken off guard by the show of affection, particularly with another person in the room. She looked at Ducky past her Dad's shoulder and smiled bashfully.

"Finally managed to scare me, kiddo," he said quietly. She smiled and laughed, drawing back. She tilted her head at Ducky.

"Thank him," she said.

Jethro squeezed her shoulder, turning his gaze to the older man. He smiled and held out his hand. Jethro crossed his over and grasped it.

"Donald Mallard," he said, "Most just call me Ducky."

"Jethro," Jethro said, nodding gratefully. He turned his attention back to Kelly.

"Where's my son?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I asked Maddie to watch him a while longer when McGee called me," he answered. "What happened?" he asked, moving right along.

"Does he know I'm hurt?"

"_Kelly_."

"A terrorist snuck into NCIS," she answered reluctantly.

Jethro stared at her. He looked to Ducky for confirmation. The older man nodded solemnly. He looked back at Kelly.

"What?" he asked sharply.

"It's sort of a long story," she said airily.

"I've got time," he growled seriously.

"I'll summarize it," she said, glaring at him. "An operative got into headquarters in a body bag in order to preserve a biological attack we thought we stopped Al-Queada pulling off. He took hostages. Jenny took us back. I have sustained minor injuries and am being tested for smallpox, which I do not have."

Jethro glared. He sensed that was the shortest possible version of the story he could have gotten. The mention of Jenny reminded him he hadn't seen her around. In fact, he was a little surprised she hadn't been the one to contact him.

"Is Jenny hurt?" he asked.

"That's very sweet Dad. I was waiting for you to ask," Kelly said warmly. She turned her head to Ducky and wrinkled her nose cutely. "He's worried about Jenny. They have a thing," she informed him secretively.

Ducky laughed.

"Kelly. Gibbs."

Kelly looked at Jethro.

"Is there a reason you're using your angry-father voice?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This isn't funny."

She sobered a little, moving her arm.

"Nah, guess not," she muttered. "I'm going to call Maddie," she said quietly. She reached for her bag next to her and took her phone. "Jenny isn't hurt. She's never hurt. Don't know where she is though."

She said breezily. Jethro nodded. He looked around, and as Kelly put her phone to her ear, she tilted her head at Jethro and waved him away. He started off and heard Kelly greet Maddie, placating her.

"I'm fine. It's a scratch. Oh, you know Dad, he's paranoid…"

He was at the door when the older man, called Ducky, touched his arm softly. Jethro turned to him, questioning.

"Kelly was not the only person injured in this ordeal. I assume you will find Jennifer somewhere secluded. She will not be pleasant."

"Yeah," Jethro said with a short shrug. "Wouldn't expect her to be."

She was in charge of the team. If some of them had gotten hurt on her watch, he assumed she'd be pissed, among other things. It was like losing your men in battle. There was a lot of guilt. He heard Kelly's voice change as she greeted Levi. He left the room.

The young-ish agent he'd seen before in the squad room was leaning against the wall, looking antsy. Tony DiNozzo was next to the door, throwing balled up bits of paper at him.

"This is cute. You're worried about Probette."

"She got shot, Tony."

"Yeah, not like Palmer though. Palmer almost died. Kelly just started cursing like a—"

"Sailor?" Gibbs asked, putting his face close to Tony's with a glare.

The younger man squeaked and jumped a mile. The action brought a tentative smile to McGee's face.

"Don't think a gunshot wound is serious, Da-Nozzo?" Jethro asked seriously.

"No. What? Yes, sir. I think it's very…I'm very sad Kelly is hurt. What? I didn't…" Tony stammered, looking very afraid. Jethro smiled a little. He turned to McGee and gave him a nicer look.

"Don't call me sir," he said darkly to Tony, before giving him a glare just for the hell of it and walking off a little.

He'd taken a turn down another hallway, wandering, when Kate came out of a room, Abby with her. Kate looked at him and paused; Abby shuffled up to him and hugged him. Again.

"Palmer might not get to use his arm again," she mumbled. "You don't know Palmer, but he was cool. He tried to protect Ducky. He almost died. This isn't supposed to happen _at_ NCIS! Only in the field, and even then, Jenny's magic protects everyone!" she protested.

Jethro patted her on the back a little awkwardly.

"Everyone came out alive, Abs," he said.

She sniffled.

"Except the terrorists," she said, stepping away. He looked at her impassively, and then glanced at Kate.

"Shepard?" he asked.

"Oh, she's," Kate looked surprised at being spoken to, "She was dealing with the FBI. Hostage response. She's…pissed."

That seemed to be the phrase of the day.

"Where?" was all Jethro asked.

Kate looked at a loss for an answer. Abby pointed down the hall towards the emergency exit.

"Jenny was really upset she let Kelly get hurt," Abby offered, looking at him apprehensively.

He squeezed the girl's shoulder and gave her a solemn smile.

"She would not want you to tell me that," he muttered, passing them both.

He slipped his hands into his pocket and headed to the exit stairwell. It was all concrete and stale air in the passage way. Jenny was standing on the landing, her head cocked at a considering angle, staring out the small window set into the wall.

He didn't sneak up on her. He took the stairs slowly and leaned against the wall casually, putting both of his hands behind him. He settled for just looking at her. Intently.

"You are making me angry," she stated.

He shrugged.

"No," she corrected. "No, not you. But you're here. It would be easy to be angry at you."

"Guess so," he conceded, shrugging again.

She turned her neck to the side, her eyes fluttering closed and opening again.

"Yassar Qassam had the misfortune of acquainting himself with my Sig when he tried to pull off a biological attack on the Norfolk naval base. Smallpox. We got 'im on Intel from a Gitmo agent, Al-Queada interrogator. He was dead. Thought it was closed."

She tilted her head again, her eyes narrowing as she studied something that might or might not have been interesting outside the window. She snorted sardonically suddenly, shaking her head slightly.

"I was wrong," she said softly, coldly, "Some bastard infiltrates _my_ turf, holds _my_ people under duress, and instigates a firefight on his terms in _my_ presence. He hurt _my_ team. Blindsided me. And the FBI is in my face suggesting I can't police the backyard."

He watched the muscle in her jaw clench.

"Ari Haswari," she hissed coolly. "Enjoy your seventy virgins."

She was vindictive and calm at the same time, and it seemed like a very deadly combination. Jethro pushed off the wall after a moment and came forward, stepping up next to her and following her line of sight.

"I made a maverick call," she snorted, "Threw the rulebook out the window. It's how I do it. Didn't play out this time."

He waited in the silence that fell and then swallowed, folding his arms.

"You lose men, in battle," he said straightforwardly, "You have to make decisions, sometimes, that range from hard to harder. Make mistakes. Make the wrong ones. Happens," he said soberly, shrugging. "Then, someone's husband, someone's dad, isn't going home because you made the wrong call and he saved your ass," he stopped again and looked over at her. "The anger goes away. Guilt, maybe. Can't dwell."

She unfolded her arms and looked down, smiling a little.

"Not bad," she said, shrugging a little. She looked up at him, her eyes guarded. "You fought in Desert Storm. Personal story?"

He didn't answer. Jenny shrugged, inclined her head and rolled her neck.

"Sorry your daughter got hurt," she said, turning to him. She touched his arm. "She wouldn't have, if she listened."

"Don't say you're sorry," he shrugged off the apology. He never understood why people apologized for things that weren't their fault, or in some cases, things they didn't regret. "Sign of weakness."

Jenny cocked her eyebrow.

"Christ, you really think you're John Wayne," she mocked, loosening a little.

She turned towards him and he was a little surprised when she pressed her head against his chest and sighed dramatically. She gave a frustrated groan and shook her head. He smiled and raised his eyebrow at her.

She looked up at him, pressing her palms against his shoulder, and smirked softly.

"Go home to your family, Jethro."

"Come for dinner?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Incident report," she muttered, her eyes taking on a faraway look again. She leaned up a little, not much in the classically present heels, and kissed the corner of his mouth. He caught his hand in her hair and held her lips there for a moment, kissing her properly.

She slipped away from him and started up the stairs. The click of her heels echoed loudly.

"Jen."

"Yeah?"

"You make the kill shot?"

She turned and met his eyes before she answered.

"I'm sure Ducky will enjoy weighing his liver as much as I did double tapping his heart."

* * *

"Mommy, does it hurt?" Levi asked interestedly, crawling up to his knees next to Kelly and touching her shoulder gently.

Kelly smiled.

"Nah, it's just a flesh wound," she replied, smiling at Jethro. He smirked.

She was sitting on the couch in shorts and a tank top, her arm in a sling. Levi was fascinated with her "cool" injury, thinking it almost like a movie. He had been trying to cheer _Maddie_ up when they retrieved him.

"What kind of bad guy shot you?" he asked, pulling the sling to the side to look. "Did he have a blaster?"

Kelly laughed. She pulled Levi's hand away from her and dragged him over her lap, looking down at him and tickling his foot.

"No, silly, only good guys like Han Solo have blasters!"

Levi giggled and squirmed under Kelly's tickling.

He crawled away from Kelly's grip, tumbling off the couch and disappearing. He reappeared next to her, jumping onto the arm rest and crinkling his nose at Kelly.

"I don't want him to hurt you again!" he said, glaring.

"Don't worry, sweetie," she said, shaking her head. "He got what he deserved."

Levi pointed his hand at Kelly like a gun and made shooting noises. He crawled back into her lap and grabbed her free hand, holding it and beginning to chatter.

"Ms. Shelley let us all feed the baby goats in the zoo and Zack let one eat his lunch and then when we saw the elumphants…"

Jethro smiled and got up, listening to Kelly and Levi's conversation fade as he left the room, walking back through the halls to his bedroom. Kelly was fine. He made her let him look at the wound and had almost been able to scoff at it. It didn't mean it hadn't upset him though.

He went into the bathroom and shut the door, turning the shower on. He needed to sort his thoughts. He was concerned about Kelly, and then he was concerned about Jenny, and then he felt like concern for Jenny was taking away from the worry he should be devoting for Kelly.

It was complicated and annoying.

When he turned off the water twenty minutes later and dried off, slipping into older, boat-building clothes, it had gotten quieter in the house. Padding around his bedroom, he couldn't hear Levi.

He looked at the door, pausing to listen, and Kelly entered the room, crossing her arms as best she could in the sling.

"Levi was beat," she announced, "Chasing those baby goats at the zoo wore him out."

Jethro smiled. He nodded his head, aware that could happen easily with excited kids. Kelly shrugged and wandered into the room, looking around. It was pretty bare as bedrooms went. She went over to the bureau and put her good arm on it.

"You know, this isn't your fault, Dad," she said, a little teasingly.

He gave her a look. He actually wasn't blaming himself for this one. She smiled at him, reaching up to push her hair back of her shoulders. She rubbed her eyes.

"Is it yours?" he asked gruffly.

"What?" she asked, looking at him.

"Jen," he said slowly, meeting his daughter's eyes, "said you did not listen to her."

She gave him a sharp look.

"You are my father, not my boss," she said, "and just because you're dating Jenny does not mean you have a say in my actions at work."

"You have to look out for yourself, Kelly. You have a young son," he looked at her and lowered his voice, "and you know what it's like to lose your mother."

She calmed a little, blinking. She nodded.

"I was not being reckless," she said softly. "And I didn't ignore her order."

Kelly stopped talking and sighed in frustration, rubbing her face again.

"Jenny," she began, "is upset because when I made a move for the gun Haswari had on her, he jerked and shot me in the shoulder," she gave Jethro a pointed look. "I got the bullet that was meant for her head."

Jethro's eyes widened a little as he processed the information. Kelly nodded curtly, as if to say 'now you know'. She looked away from Jethro and ran her hand back through her hair. Yawning, Kelly straightened up.

"I'm going to have something to eat," she murmured, "Watch Conan, go to bed," she shrugged. "Getting shot sucks. I don't know how you did it four times," she grumbled under her breath, flashing a smile as she left the room.

Jethro moved over to the bureau she'd been at and reached for the item on top Kelly had considered briefly during their conversation: the dark grey sweater Jenny had left over from their weekend together. He made a decision and grabbed his keys.

Kelly was standing in the kitchen scooping ice cream when he walked past. She glanced up, furrowed her brow, and walked out, stopping him at the door.

Her eyes fell to the sweater in his hands.

"Are you going over there, Dad?" she asked, standing in the hallway curiously.

He looked at her. She glanced behind her into the kitchen.

"It's late," she said gently.

"She's up," he said firmly.

Kelly conceded that. She hesitated before she spoke again.

"Jenny is…complicated. She might not want company. She's brooding."

Jethro shook his head slowly, remembering what it felt like to be in her position.

"Nah, Kelly, you don't know the feeling," he said quietly, reaching for the door. "When your people get hurt under your command, you need someone to say you didn't fail."

He told her goodbye and headed out the door to his car. He made the drive to Jenny's house, resolving to wait there until she got home if she was still letting herself be swallowed up at the office. Her car was not in the driveway when he pulled up, and he was forced to fish the spare key from a loose brick in the garden path.

He turned the porch light on. Sort of to warn her someone was here, if the car wasn't a clue. He went straight back into the study, sitting down on the sofa across from the fireplace and leaning back. It was not long before he heard a car door slam.

She appeared in the doorway and looked at him in the dark, dropping her purse carelessly on the nearest chair. Her hair was messy around her shoulders.

"Fair enough," she murmured, inclining her head.

She slipped her heels off and walked towards him softly on the carpet. She put her hands on his shoulders and straddled his lap. He noticed, with her proximity, the faint red ring in her eyes and reached up to touch her cheek.

She leaned into him and pressed her lips against his, removing his shirt swiftly. He slipped his arms around her hips and pulled her closer. He was familiar with this kind of need, and it was a need that was easy to soothe.

* * *

He woke up to Jenny shifting around again. He leaned up and reached over to her, because he could see this one wasn't just the mild distress he'd seen before.

"Jen, wake up," he said calmly, touching her bare shoulder gently. "Jen."

"What?" she gasped, sitting up quickly, the covers slipping off of her. She caught his hand and blinked. At that moment, her alarm went off and she winced, turning to glare at it. She hit it violently and took a deep breath, drawing her knees and the sheets back up around her.

Jethro glanced at the clock as he sat up, noting the early hour. Jenny reached over and turned a lamp on, leaning back against her headboard. She closed her eyes.

"Thanks for waking me up," she muttered darkly, and he gave her a slightly surprised look.

"You okay, Jen?"

"Peachy."

"You're covered in sweat."

"Oh, that's left over from last night," she quipped. She peeked one eye open and the corners of her lips twitched up gently. He grinned and she leaned over to him, letting him catch her against him while she sighed and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Want to stay in bed all day?" she murmured, trailing kisses over his shoulder. He rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him, running his hand through his hair and over her spine.

"Hell yeah," he answered, mimicking her kisses.

"Too bad, Gunny, I have to go to work."

"Guess it'd be awkward to continue this there?"

"Ooh, just a little. Your daughter being present and all."

She smiled into his lips and moved off of him, slipping out from under the covers and walking over to her closet. He turned onto his stomach to watch. She disappeared into her ridiculously spacious closet and came back out with an outfit.

He watched her pick lingerie from her bureau. Green lace, matching set. She slipped it on and smiled at him.

"Why don't you make yourself useful," she asked sarcastically, "and go make some coffee?"

"Clothes are downstairs," he said.

She arched a brow.

"Then I suppose I'll get to watch you walk your bare ass down there and get them."

He smirked, and extracted himself from the tangle of sheets. It was a good thing it was summer, or the trek down stairs to her study would have been a cold one.

Clad in his jeans and now wrinkled t-shirt, he figured out the coffee maker easily and started her signature blend, rummaging for mugs in the cabinet. He was, understandably, rather surprised when his pulling a second mug out of the cabinet prompted a sippy cup to fall out.

Setting the mugs aside, he picked up the plastic kid's cup and looked at it with mild interest, wondering who it belonged to. It was blue, and looked something like what Levi had lying around the house.

He had it in his hand when he turned towards Jenny's footsteps as she entered the kitchen.

"Damn, and I was hoping you'd still be naked," she said, sauntering into the room. She ran her hand through her hair and shook it messily over her shoulders, pausing when her eyes fell on what was in his hand.

She looked up at him and her eyes flickered. Approaching him, she took it, looked at it, and then thrust it back in the cabinet.

"Huh," she shrugged, sounding interested. She took a coffee mug and turned away. He gave her a weird look behind her back as she stared at the coffee maker.

"Hurry up, Tony."

Jethro cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, giving her a look. She glanced at him and jerked her head at the coffee maker.

"Named it after DiNozzo."

"Uh-huh," he said. "Why?"

She turned and glared at the coffee maker.

"It doesn't do what it's supposed to."

Jethro smirked. When satisfied with the coffee, Jen poured a cup and passed it to him. She leaned against the counter and took a sip, closing her eyes. She rolled her neck back and forth slowly. Jenny opened her eyes and looked at him studiously.

"My team is going to thank you today," she murmured with a suggestive smile. "They will be dreading a day with the self-hating, pissed, frustrated boss, yet instead they will be granted a respite when I show up mellow due to all the sex we had."

"Mellow," he snorted derisively.

He set his coffee cup down and approached her. He gave her a stern look and put his arms on either side of her, trapping her. He tilted his head solemnly and leaned closer.

"This is all very intimidating," she stated in a stage whisper, "But what are you doing in my face?"

"Telling you to ease up on yourself," he responded.

"How very noble."

She took a sober drink of her coffee and licked her lips, her emerald eyes taking on a guarded, almost restrained glow. Her lashes twitched slightly and she shifted slightly, still holding her own.

"Sometimes it scares me how close you're getting," she stated. It was straight forward; matter of fact, and honest.

He had the feeling she wasn't referring to the physical proximity. And if he was honest with himself, it scared the hell out of him, too.

* * *

_And thus I answer all the review/questions I've been getting about the Ari storyline.  
-Alexandra_


	8. 7

_A/N: Insight into the Author: I thrive on 'awkward'. And I know that you guys, in the back of your secret Tony-DiNozzo-Minds, wanted what is about to happen...to happen:)_

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs looked up with interest at the sound of heels clicking on his basement stairs, unsure if he was hearing things or not. It had been a while since he'd last seen her.

"Hey, Stranger," she greeted softly, stepping gracefully to the concrete floor, her hand resting on the stair rails. It was good to see her. Odd, that when he'd just begun to consider showing up at her house, she showed up at his.

"It's a nod to my impeccably good timing that your house is empty again," she said, smiling. She inclined her head at him. "Save you."

He flashed a smile at her.

"Just me," he agreed.

She nodded slowly and started to walk forward.

"Long case?" he asked.

"Hard case," she answered.

He put down the rag he was holding and retreated from the boat. He crossed his arms as she continued to approach purposefully.

"Turn out okay?"

She nodded.

"Fairytale ending," she said. "The team's thrilled. Kidnapping. Parents got their daughter back, we nabbed the bad guy," she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "They're celebrating."

"Not you?" he asked.

She shook her head, her steps slowing as she reached him.

"Can't," she said quietly, reaching for him greedily. "Too stressed," she murmured, shaking her head in annoyance. "I need it out of my head," she breathed, pulling his mouth to hers for a kiss.

He slipped his arms around her waist willingly and pushed her against the wooden counter, cushioning the hard edge with his hands. She pulled him close and he lifted her onto the counter, stepping in between her legs.

"Oh, Jethro," she murmured, moving her lips to his jaw and his throat, her long legs tangling around his waist. "I hate the cases with children."

He put his hands behind her shoulders and coaxed her to arch back gently, placing light kisses to her collar bone and the swell of her breasts exposed from her blouse. He massaged her shoulders comfortingly and she reached up to his hair, holding his head to her.

His hands moved down over her back and around to the buttons down her top, unfastening them with lazy precision. He slipped his hand under the loosened material and curved his hand around her breast through her bra. He rested his hand on her knee and hooked his thumb under the hem of her skirt, slowly dragging it up her thighs.

"I _missed_ you, Jen," he said gruffly, grinning appreciatively when he discovered her bare beneath her skirt.

She smirked, laughed softly, and kissed him, her tongue running over his enticingly. She closed her eyes lightly and gasped when he slipped a finger inside her, and rested her cheek on his shoulder, biting her lip.

He had her whimpering, moaning softly, and reaching for his belt when he in turn tangled a hand in her hair and drew her head off his shoulder so he could look at her; dark, desirous emerald eyes and red, pursed lips.

He slipped another finger into her and she gasped, tightening around him. She leaned forward and he caught her mouth under his, tasting her need. Jenny moaned and shivered, her breath hitching in her throat.

Jethro heard a thump on the stairs, followed by another. The way Jenny's eyes snapped open alertly and she stopped breathing told him she heard it too.

"Guess what, team?" Jenny closed her eyes and opened them in defeat. Jethro growled in the back of his throat. "I found Jenny," Tony DiNozzo's amused voice announced.

"What?" that was Kelly's voice, "Why are you guys just standing on the stairs like—"she flicked the light on and ran into Kate's back as she tried to walk down. She noticed Kate was covering her mouth, looked over, and—

"Oh my god," she gasped, mortified.

Jenny moved her mouth a fraction of an inch, very close to Jethro's ear, and whispered:

"Can they see where your hand is?" Her voice was constrained and breathless. Slowly, he shook his head. He didn't think so.

"Are we having the party on the staircase?" Abby asked brightly, shuffling onto the landing. She held Levi on her hip. Kelly groaned. Abby realized what was going on and squealed. She covered Levi's eyes.

"Jenny and Kelly's dad are having the party," Tony announced loudly.

Kelly smacked him in the back of the head.

"Kelly said you would be out," Kate offered, her laugher muffled behind her hand.

"We're sorry, um, Boss…Gibbs," stammered McGee, clearly embarrassed beyond repair and desperate to remove himself from the situation.

"Oh my _god_," Kelly moaned, reaching up to rub her forehead.

Jethro glared at the lot of them.

"Out," he growled.

Abby giggled and scampered away, her eyes sparkling in Jenny's direction. McGee pushed out thankfully, looking relieved, and Kate followed, patting Kelly's shoulder sympathetically. Tony remained, leering.

"Remove yourself, DiNozzo," Jenny ordered, narrowing her eyes, "Or I'll make sure you never experience what I was _just_ about to again," she threatened.

Kelly snorted in disgust.

"_Christ_, Jenny," she murmured, a pained expression on her face.

"I'm content to watch you finish," Tony said suggestively.

Kelly grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him out, flushing red and noticing the look on her father's face at such a lewd insinuation.

"Argh! Probie! Lemmego!" he kicked and struggled as she forced him out the door.

She shoved him stumbling out of the basement and turned to glare at her father and her boss.

"We are going to have a very serious talk about this," she informed them sternly, stalking out of the basement and flicking the light back off.

Jethro looked at Jenny in complete silence. She relaxed, starting to breathe again.

"_God_, please move your hand," she requested, reaching to take hold of his wrist. He pulled his fingers back and she shivered, a soft moan escaping her lips.

He rested his hand on either side of her thighs, leaning forward and bowing his forehead to the crook of her neck.

"Ah," she whispered, "Not _quite_ the dénouement I was hoping for, but the stress is now nonexistent."

He laughed gruffly into her shoulder, because the incident was amusing as much as it was awkward. Jenny's muscles were still tense all over, even if her mirth was genuine now.

Jethro jerked his head towards the stairs and she sighed, her legs sliding down his waist as she pushed him back a little with her knees. He stepped back and she began buttoning her blouse, leaving the top two free as she usually did.

He held out his hand gallantly and she took it, hopping off the counter. She went towards the stairs and shot him a glance over her shoulder that, in less than eloquent terms, drove him crazy. He snatched her around the waist and pulled her back against his chest, placed a kiss to her neck.

"I'm not done with you," he growled in her ear, and she smiled lazily. She slipped out of his grip and he followed her up stairs.

He'd barely stepped into the kitchen when Levi pounced on him.

"Surprise!" he yelled, smiling up at Jethro excitedly.

"Surprise, indeed," teased Jenny under her breath. She smiled nicely at Levi.

"He, um, thinks there's a surprise because Abby covered his eyes," Kate enlightened them.

Jethro looked around. They were all standing around the kitchen, though Kelly wasn't to be seen. Levi tugged on his jeans and he looked down again, while Jenny turned a stern glare on a grinning DiNozzo.

"Why were you taking Jenn-eeee's clothes off, Gunny?" he asked, as Kelly walked into the kitchen. She immediately glared at her colleagues.

"Which one of you told him to ask that?!"

Four people pointed at Tony. He laughed and held up his hands.

"What, I wanted to know too," he tried innocently. He noticed the look on Jenny's face and turned his laughter into harsh coughing.

Kelly snatched up Levi as she walked past and pulled a cup for him out of the fridge, handing it to him absently. She sat him on the counter and he looked around, glad to be in the group. Kelly folded her arms and looked around.

"Are all of you immature human begins going to stand around and stare at each other?"

"What's the polite thing to say in this situation?" Kate asked seriously, smiling a little. Tony opened his mouth and Abby slapped her hand over it, snickering.

"Whatever it is, Tony doesn't know it," she said truthfully.

Tony grinned.

"This is my worst nightmare," Kelly muttered. She glared at her father. "I invited the team for drinks, since I had to pick up Levi." she informed him, switching gears. "Thought you were out."

"You thought wrong," Jethro answered slowly.

"Yeah, you were actually _in_ with Red," Tony announced.

"TONY!"

He hung his head, defeated, smirking, and backing down at the chastisement from every one of his colleagues.

"At least you can join us now, Boss," McGee said, attempting to ignore what had occurred and invite Jenny to the party.

"Thank you for acting like a mature adult, Tim," Kelly said loudly, giving Tony, and then even Kate, a pointed look. She looked to Jethro.

"Can we have the basement?" she asked.

"That was cute," Tony murmured to Abby, "she reverted to a teenager in the wake of his glare."

Kelly didn't take her eyes off her Dad.

"I'm going to kill you, DiNutso," she said calmly, waiting.

Jethro nodded curtly.

"I'll keep an eye on Levi," he said.

"Awwww," Abby sounded disappointed. Kelly smiled gratefully.

"Believe me Abs, its better he stays up here," she muttered, ushering her teammates towards the basement. They went, Tim hanging behind to walk down with Kelly. He smiled bashfully at Jenny and did not make eye contact with Jethro.

Kelly put her hand on Jenny's shoulder.

"You deserve to celebrate, you know," she said, looking her boss in the eye.

Jenny just looked back impassively. Kelly inclined her head with a smirk, glancing at Jethro.

"You want to stay with Dad," she noted, giving them a knowing look and slipping past. "Just remember there is a kid in the vicinity," she warned, giving them a glare just for good measure.

She disappeared into the basement and pulled the door to. Jenny looked up at Jethro with an arched eyebrow and Levi giggled, turning their attention back to him.

"What are we supposed to do with him?" Jenny asked in playful disdain.

"Lock him in a _dungeon_," Jethro answered seriously, and Levi screamed, his eyes widening comically.

Jethro settled for plunking Levi down in front of the Star Wars cartoon with building blocks and a game boy just in case. Jenny still seemed on edge, and he sensed she was uncomfortable with Levi around.

He watched her from the kitchen, looking through the bar as she lounged on the couch, Levi on the floor. He was getting the wine he'd offered, and he was taking his time. He couldn't quite place Jenny's behavior. Levi took to her, that was obvious, and Jethro could not decide of Jenny liked kids or simply tolerated them.

She was good with him, but she seemed guarded as well.

"Look, Jenny! Dark Jedi!" he yelled, running up to her and pointing to the screen.

"You don't say?" Jenny asked, looking at the screen. Levi nodded.

"He's bad. He tries to get Yoda," Levi informed her.

"Nonsense," Jenny responded, "Nobody gets Yoda. Especially not _dark_ Jedi," she said, ruffling Levi's hair.

Jethro smiled and turned away, taking the glasses from the cabinet. He went about getting the drinks, shaking the thoughts from his mind. For some reason, it made him miss Shannon, watching Jenny with the kid.

He re-entered the living room with two glasses of wine and handed one to Jenny, sitting down on the edge of the couch with some space between them. He leaned forward casually on his knees, watching her.

She smiled absently and took a drink of the wine.

Levi returned to his blocks and sat down, beginning to play with them while he watched the screen.

"Kelly is very lucky," Jenny said neutrally, taking another drink.

Jethro nodded, finding nothing to disagree with there. He squinted a little at Jenny, watching her.

She set her glass down and reached to her throat, her eyes still on Levi and the TV. He noticed she was fingering her dog tag necklace. Levi sprung up as a commercial started on the screen and scampered over to Jenny, holding up his game boy.

"Can I sit with you?" he asked, as he climbed up on the couch and sat on her lap regardless of her answer.

"Levi," warned Jethro, but Jenny just waved him off, nodding at Levi with a small smile.

"What's in the game?" she asked, tapping the part where the cartridge went in.

"Pokémon!" Levi answered, turning it on and snuggling up to her. She looked stiff, drawing her hand away from her neck and resting her arms at her sides and on the armrest. "My friend Zack let me take it. I'm not good at it," he said talkatively.

"Anyone ever tell you practice makes perfect?"

"Mommy says no one's perfect, 'speshully not Granpa," he responded innocently, and Jenny looked up at Jethro in amusement. Jethro just grumbled something and took a drink of his wine. "Zack's Dad taught him how to play. I don't have a Dad."

Jethro slowly drew his wine glass away from his mouth. Jenny paused. She didn't look up from Levi. She reached up and put her hand in her hair, raising an eyebrow as if interested.

"No?" she asked.

"Huh-uh," Levi answered. He looked up from pressing buttons. "Do you have a Dad?" he asked.

Jenny nodded slowly. She wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips as she tilted her head.

"So does Zack, and Granpa, and Mommy," Levi informed her solemnly. "Not me," he added.

"Everyone has a dad," Jenny said simply.

Jethro looked at her sharply. She hadn't looked at him for guidance yet and he was wary of this kind of conversation. Kelly had just averted Levi's attention the last time it had come up. She'd cried about it later, worrying about having to eventually answer that question.

"How come I don't get to see mine?"

"Hmmm," Jenny murmured quietly. "He wasn't a good man," she said.

"Jen," Jethro intervened sharply, giving her a hard look. He was pretty sure that was not the direction to go. She gave him a sharp look and turned back to the boy in her lap.

"He was bad?"

Jenny shrugged a little.

"He didn't love your Mom, Levi, so he ran off," she said, and Jethro narrowed his eyes. Levi furrowed his brow and dropped his game boy on the floor.

"What about me?" Levi asked.

"Oh, _you_," Jenny said airily, "Your Mom decided she'd rather have you than him. She figured you'd like Gunny over there better, anyway."

Levi looked like he was considering that. He shook his head and gave Jenny a dark look.

"I don't need _that_ Dad," he said. "I like Mom better."

Jenny smiled and touched him on the nose. Jethro relaxed a little, understandably surprised at the technique Jenny used. She hadn't shed a bad light on Kelly, and she hadn't made it seem like Levi wasn't loved. It had been the fault of the guy alone.

"'Sides, daddies are supposed to love mommies and if he di'int, then I don' love him, either." Levi nodded matter-of-factly.

Jethro heard a soft noise behind him and turned, the feeling of peace going away.

"Kel," he said hoarsely. Jenny looked around.

"Hi, Mommy!" Levi exclaimed brightly, jumping off of Jenny and running over the couch towards Kelly. Jenny winced at the movement and watched him, her sharp eyes following Levi.

"I came to read you a book before bed," she said, and Jethro could tell she was holding back tears.

"Narnia!" Levi insisted excitedly. Kelly nodded.

"Run, brush your teeth, bucko," she said, managing a smile. Jethro stood up, leaving his glass on the table, as Levi bounded out of the room. Kelly was looking at Jenny impassively.

Jenny looked up at her probationary agent, her eyes guarded again.

"He asked, Kelly," she said simply.

Kelly nodded, shrugging a little. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"You," she paused, swallowing, "you said it better than I could have. I just," she paused again, lifting her eyes. "I don't like reminding myself that his father never loved me," she said quietly, and went down the hall after Levi.

Jethro rubbed his forehead and turned to look at Jenny. She looked up at him, her body language tense. He sat down next to her and pulled her towards him a little, putting his hands on her shoulders.

He rubbed gently, aware that there was something bothering her very much right now. Levi had shifted the mood of the night; Jethro could tell Jenny was miles away.

"What is it, Jen?" he asked softly, resting his chin on her shoulder. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly, and her answer was colder than he expected.

"I will never understand why people disappoint children," she said. "Why they hurt them. Or," she fell silent for a moment. Then, she just didn't finish the statement. She pulled away from him and turned, resting her hand on his knee, looking at him impassively.

She leaned forward and kissed him, harder than he expected. He cradled her head in his hand, caught off guard by the abandon in her. She broke away as they both heard the shuffling of footsteps and the rustle of coats; the team was coming up the stairs.

She leaned forward and put her mouth close to his ear. He turned his face towards her hair and breathed in the scent, running his hands through it.

"We shout get a room, Jethro," she said conspiratorially, reminding him of how he loved to hear her say his name.

"Mine's free," he answered. Jenny stood up and took her wine glass with a seductive smirk, leaving in the direction of his bedroom. He followed, forgetting the wine glass, and shut the door behind them, locking it.

Jenny had disappeared into the bathroom, already had the water running. He wandered in after her and she shut the door slowly behind him. She started un buttoning her shirt, shrugging out of it fluidly.

"Forgive me if I didn't want to face Abby's smiling, psychic pretty face," she said, shimmying her skirt off as well. She shook her hair over her shoulders, standing in front of him in her lingerie. "She seems to think there's a 'deep-seated, heart-breaking sadness' in me," Jenny snorted, but again, that skepticism didn't reach her eyes.

Jethro closed in on her, moving his hand firmly up the column of her throat to her cheek. He forced her to meet his eyes, searching them. He stroked his thumb over her carotid artery as she swallowed.

"She asked me to make it go away," he said neutrally.

"Oh she did?" Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Why, that meddling _vampire_."

He was trying to find that sadness again. He had seen it before. It reared its ugly head sometimes, and he couldn't place what brought it out, or what it was. It was deceptively hidden and very well guarded. A secluded part of Jenny Shepard.

She took the collar of his shirt in her delicate fingers and pulled him towards the shower, until they both stumbled over the small edge and were in the midst of hot water, soaked through lace and his clothes.

"I just want to forget about that damn _case_," she growled, rolling her eyes petulantly.

He smirked and put his hands on her shoulders, running them slowly down her body and sinking to his knees under the spray of water. He hooked his fingers into the lace of her panties and slid them down her legs.

He kissed the inside of her thigh slowly and drew it over his shoulder, reaching up to entwine his fingers with hers. She tightened them considerably, and she moaned when his mouth touched her again.

If she wanted to forget, forget she would. He'd make her think of nothing but him ever _again_.

He kind of decided he wanted it that way.

* * *

_Yes. I know I'm being a tease. *cackles*  
-Alexandra_

.


	9. 8

_A/N: You've all been guessing. A few of you were spot on, and I think plenty of you had the inkling without clueing me in:) Here's the "chapter of secrets" to reference Season4. This chapter is the scene that struck me first when I got the idea for this story--well, this and upcoming Ch10. It's the 'rock', I suppose:)_

_GeekLoveFan: You damn well better love it:)_

* * *

It seemed Kelly had decided that Jenny's honest conversation with Levi cemented the intimacy of her boss' relationship with Dad. She was less amused by it and more serious as the lines between her home life and her work life became increasingly blurred.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was happy and at ease with the relationship. He was content with Jenny. It was an unorthodox one at best. They didn't stigmatize or label their liaison; it was what it was and they left it that way. They certainly didn't talk about it.

There were days when he didn't see her, times when he retreated from her, and stretches where he was always close to her. They had discovered, at some point, that they _really_ liked to yell at each other.

According to Kelly, DiNozzo got yelled at work when Jenny and Jethro got into it at home.

Kelly accepted it so warmly that, when late Summer came around and case loads dropped off, Jethro couldn't remember if it had been his idea or Kelly's that Jenny be invited to weekly movie night.

He was a little annoyed that he was stuck in the basement with Levi, working on the boat, while Jenny and Kelly chatted upstairs. He was wary of what Jenny was being told about him.

"Then, there was this girl," Kelly paused, searching for a name as she handed Jenny a beer from the fridge and sat down at the dining table, drawing one leg up in the chair with her. "_Ginger_," she drawled, giving it a slight southern tinge. "Real cutthroat, God, she was a bitch."

Jenny snorted and took a drink of the cold corona, her legs crossed in front of her in the chair she sat in across from Kelly.

"I couldn't believe Dad dated a woman named _Ginger_, ugh," Kelly shivered and shook her head, taking a drink of her own.

"I assume your adorably conniving childhood self got rid of her," Jenny noted, raising an eyebrow. Kelly nodded wickedly.

"She became convinced I was trying to hurt her in some way," Kelly said. "But I don't know _why_ she ever thought that…" she added, batting innocent eyes.

Jenny smirked, stroking the neck of her beer bottle absently. Kelly took a nostalgic sip of her beer and then put it down, her eyes sparkling as she thought of something else.

"Ah, but Diane was worse," she said, nodding matter-of-factly.

"Diane who sued him?" Jenny asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Or, God _forbid_, was there another such harpy as her?"

"Oh, so you've heard of the Devil in Couture," Kelly said, rolling her eyes. "I used to not understand why the hell he dated that…_woman._"

"You do now, I presume?" Jenny asked, arching her brow knowingly.

"But of course," Kelly answered mockingly, "Diane was gorgeous. Stunning good looks. Long legs, long red hair. Real fox. She was kind of a slut, too, so that was a bonus. For Dad."

Jenny laughed outright, tilting her beer towards Kelly appreciatively. Kelly grinned, shaking her head at her father. It was easy to talk to Jenny, she'd found, even more so outside of work. Jenny had a funny way of understanding things—and not asking questions or probing into emotions.

"Diane was allergic to strawberries," Kelly said simply. "She was also a selfish, screechy, shallow, gold digging whore, and I was a curious little fourteen-year-old who wanted to know what happened if she ate them. "

Jenny smiled wickedly, and yet gave Kelly a mockingly chastising look.

"My, my, little Kelly, what did you do?" she asked.

"I pissed her off, and as usual, she got angry at Dad," Kelly related, "So, in an effort to show what a repentant, sweet girl I was, I baked a cake. Strawberry short cake, to be exact."

"Ah," Jenny noted. "So, dear, what does happen to one who's allergic to strawberries when said person consumes them, pray tell?"

Kelly leaned forward and rested her chin on her knee, pretending to be secretive.

"Hives," she said, and Jenny smirked slightly. "Fever, symptoms of asthma," Kelly looked thrilled at the idea. "Needless to say, Diane was under the impression—and again, I tell you, I have _no_ idea _why_—that Daddy tried to kill her."

Jenny took a slow, sip of her beer and Kelly followed suit, relishing the memory. The conversation had been brought on, oddly enough, by the viewing of the night's movie _X-Men 3._ He had been put out to find himself teased throughout the movie because the leading female was a redhead.

"A toast to you, then," Jenny said, holding up her corona. Kelly raised her brows in question. "For clearing my way," she said wickedly. Kelly laughed good-naturedly and raised her own, saluting Jenny playfully.

They fell silent, and Kelly tilted her head and smiled as she heard Levi screech from down in the basement.

"Did Jethro date a lot when you were little?" Jenny asked curiously, studying Kelly intently.

Kelly looked at her and pursed her lips, shaking her head.

"Not a lot," she answered thoughtfully. "Ginger, Diane, a few others, maybe. He got a bit serious with Stephanie, but they never would have worked," Kelly smirked a little. "She cried too much."

Jenny smiled indulgently. Kelly was still looking nostalgic, speaking freely, and Jenny was finding it insightful. Often, Jethro didn't talk much. He just stared. He spoke with actions.

"Dad," Kelly began, smiling a little sadly. "Dad never got over Mom. I don't think, not really. He tried to say he didn't date because of me, but I've always hated seeing him lonely. He misses her so much," Kelly said softly, shaking her head.

Jenny looked at her softly.

"How old where you, Kelly? When she left?" she asked.

Kelly smiled a little quizzically, her brow furrowing.

"Funny way to put it, Jenny," she said, taking a quick swallow of Corona, "'left'," she quoted, tilting her head.

An alarm bell when off in the back of Jenny's mind, but she didn't say anything.

"I was eight," Kelly continued softly. "Dad was in Kuwait, Desert Storm. It must have been hard for him, alone in the Middle East," she was looking at her beer with a distant look, remembering the hardest days. "He was really lost for a while after Mom died," she murmured.

Jenny couldn't help her intake of breath. Kelly looked up at the sound, and her eyes narrowed a little. Jenny swallowed, looking at Kelly.

She felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. She hadn't known Kelly's mother had died; she had assumed they were divorced, that the woman had left…Jethro had never told her.

"He didn't tell you," Kelly murmured in a small voice. It wasn't a question. She looked at Jenny's slightly pale face and her stricken eyes and she knew. He had kept that from her like he had all the others. "_Goddammit_, Daddy," she swore, her voice shaking.

"She died," Jenny said slowly, her voice gently. "Oh, Kelly."

Kelly nodded.

"How?"

Kelly took a breath.

"Mom witnessed a murder in Oceanside. The perp was a Mexican crime lord. NCIS put us under protection until the trial," Kelly looked away, her eyes growing glassy, "Agent Decker," she remembered, "He was driving us to, um," she collected herself, "to ballet lessons. Someone shot him. The car crashed and…"

Kelly looked up at Jenny, her eyes watery, and tried to smile, sniffing.

"I haven't talked about it in a long time," she admitted. "Mom died in the crash. They sent Dad home from Kuwait nineteen days later."

Jenny swallowed hard, a mixture of emotions rippling through her. It was such a tragic thing to hear, and she felt so blindsided by it. It hurt her to think of the loss he'd felt, and she felt hurt as well that he hadn't told her.

Kelly reached up and wiped her eyes briskly, taking a long drink of her beer and swallowing hard, her eyes closed. When she opened them, she was composed. She looked at Jenny, watching her boss struggle with the information.

Jenny pressed her lips together and straightened up, composing herself. She took a quiet breath and looked at her lover's daughter, torn.

"I misunderstood," she said hoarsely, "I thought he was divorced."

"Don't do him any favors," Kelly reprimanded a little nastily, looking sharply at Jenny. "I don't understand why he won't respect Mom's memory. He hasn't told any of you."

Jenny smiled very softly, no matter how much it hurt her. She tried to quell the inevitable anger, putting herself in Jethro's shoes.

"You know how it hurt to lose your Mother, Kelly," Jenny said quietly. "Your father lost the woman he loved and his best friend in one. It must hurt him to talk about it."

"I don't care," Kelly's voice broke a little; "It hurts me that he _won't_! He doesn't talk about her! It hurts me to see him miss her!" Kelly's voice rose and she lowered it, turning her face away. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

Jenny smirked a little.

"Don't apologize. It's—"

"Oh, not you too," grumbled Kelly, though the reminder of her Dad brought a small smile to her lips anyway. They both looked over as they heard pounding on the stairs, followed by steadier footsteps.

Jenny looked at Kelly.

"What was her name?" she asked softly.

Kelly stood up slowly.

"Shannon," she answered simply. Jenny nodded, and looked towards the doorframe as Levi ran in to his mother and Jethro stood still, leaning into the wall.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Levi asked, suddenly sounding worried.

The at ease look on Jethro's face faded.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking between Kelly and Jenny.

Kelly gave him a hard look and picked up Levi, hugging him close and kissing the top of his head. She murmured to him comfortingly and slipped past Jethro out of the room.

Jenny stared at Kelly's empty seat and then stood up slowly, turning around to face Jethro as he approached her. She set her beer down on the table.

"Jen," he murmured, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She looked up at him, her smirk faltering a little, and sighed, nodding her head towards Kelly.

"She needs you, Jethro," she said softly.

"Did I miss something?" he asked gruffly, his eyes narrowing. He did not like being unaware of what was happening in his own house. Not when his daughter was in tears and something was telling him Jen was upset, too.

"No," she shook her head, looking at him intently, "I did, it seems."

His shoulders tensed a little. Kelly didn't cry much. She cried when Levi was hurt, when someone she loved was hurt, or…when she missed Shannon.

"She told you," he said, a little roughly.

"She thought I knew," Jenny answered firmly. Anger bubbled to the surface again but she held it back, closing her eyes briefly. She pressed her hand against his chest. "I'm going to go, Jethro."

He let his hand slide off of her. She felt him shut down a little. He was waiting for her to get angry, or to cry, or to berate him. She wasn't going to. She felt like crying, suddenly, because she understood how he felt so much. More than he knew.

She started past him and suddenly he turned. He caught her wrist. She looked up at him and their eyes met; bare, raw. For just a moment, and then she was guarded again, and he found himself overwhelmed by the pain and hurt he'd just seen in her.

"Jenny," he breathed.

She smiled softly.

"You never call me Jenny," she teased, gently removing his hand. She squeezed his fingers and then reached up to run her knuckles along his cheek tenderly. "She's angry with you," she said, nodding in Kelly's direction.

He looked so frustrated. He started to open his mouth.

"Jethro," she cut him off, looking him directly in the eye, "I _understand._"

There was, maybe, a break in her voice, just at the end. He wouldn't know, because he had never heard her voice quiver with even the hint of tears. He let her go, and when she had left the room, he felt hollow. He wanted her.

When she had said she understood, it had been real. He believed her. It wasn't just something she said, it was something she felt.

Jethro turned away, taking her advice, and instead of returning to the boat to brood and drink and drown himself in bourbon, he went to find Kelly and face her.

* * *

Invariably, he always seemed to end up alone. It was late; he didn't even know how late. Kelly and Levi were long asleep and the house was still and quiet. He was restless and discontent, throwing himself into the boat and the nurturing mason jar of bourbon that was omnipresent.

He had thought about calling Jenny. He thought about seeking her out. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Kelly was pissed at him for keeping the details of Shannon's death from yet another girlfriend and he had no idea what Jenny was thinking.

Jethro was already trying to chase memories of Shannon away with alcohol. He didn't want to think about Jenny. He had to _face_ Jenny. If he thought about Shannon, he could dwell. It was easier.

He slammed his fist into the frame of the boat, the sander over his knuckles taking the brunt of the blow.

"I seriously doubt the poor aquatic vehicle did anything to warrant that right hook."

Jethro looked through the darkness towards the sound of her voice, surprised to hear it, and inexplicably soothed. Jenny didn't turn the light on. She came carefully down the first few stairs and sat down, looking at her knees.

He noticed she had something in her hands, but he could not make out what.

He watched her slim silhouette, at a loss for what to say or do. She pushed her hair back and looked up, silent. The atmosphere seemed different in the wake of her arrival.

"I do not know why you didn't tell me about your wife," Jenny began softly. "Shannon. Perhaps you thought, as an NCIS agent and Kelly's boss, I knew. Or perhaps," she seemed to falter briefly, "it just hurts too damn much to talk about it. I don't know," she reiterated.

He looked at her, squinting through the nearly opaque blackness.

"I won't ask you to tell me why," she assured.

Jethro pushed away from the boat, turning almost violently to the workbench where his bourbon was. He took a debilitating drink, the burn in his throat staggering.

"I pulled Mike Frank's file on Shannon after I talked to Kelly. She didn't mean harm; she thought I knew. Hoped I knew. She had faith in you. I read the details," Jenny's voice remained soft and mild, unthreatening and yet on the brink of something much deeper. "I am so sorry, Jethro."

"Don't," he told her harshly. He hated hearing that. It didn't matter if people where sorry. He was sorry too. It didn't bring Shannon back.

He took another shot of bourbon and leaned forward, staring into the intoxicating amber liquid, his one constant refuge for so long.

"Finding out the way I did was a slap to the face," she said, and her voice had taken on an almost hollow aura. "Blindsiding. I was angry. It…" Jenny paused and then snorted, a sarcastic half-laugh completely devoid of mirth or anything like it. "It hurt."

"Then why don't you walk away?" he asked roughly, and closed his eyes in frustration afterwards, biting down hard on his forked tongue.

He always seemed to drive them away. He didn't want to drive Jenny away, not if he went by the relief he'd felt when he saw her again.

He couldn't understand why she'd come back. What she was doing here. It had to be after two am; it had been late when she'd left earlier.

"I don't have a _right_ to," was her somewhat disbelieving reply. He looked over sharply, his hard eyes narrowing.

Jenny was looking at her hands, fiddling with whatever she had with her. She glanced up, noticed he was looking at her, and lifted it on one hand. He looked closer, and noticed it was the sippy cup he'd caused to tumble out of her cabinet that day.

"You stumbled across this," she stated, "You didn't ask. They always ask. Why?" she asked, her eyes on it. He could tell she was listening with every fiber of her being. He swallowed hard and looked away, furrowing his brow.

"Figured it wasn't my business," he answered, shrugging.

She gave a sad smile and looked up, her hands returning to hanging limply over her knees. She had gone to the office. She had gone home and pulled the cup from her cabinet. All the anger she had felt towards him subsided and left her cold when she thought about what she hadn't told him.

Jenny got up and Jethro looked towards her again. He watched her approach. She set the sippy cup on the workbench next to him and looked at it, reaching behind her to hook her thumbs in the back pocket of her jeans.

"That was my son Peter's," she said quietly.

He couldn't help it. He turned towards her, conflicting emotions surging through the lines of his face. Confusion, shock, worry. He tilted his head towards her, trying to find her eyes. He watched her throat move as she swallowed hard.

"September 11, 2001," she whispered. Jethro let out a slow breath, his heart dropping. That date, and he knew what was coming. Any American did.

"My husband Jim was a Naval Commander stationed at the Pentagon. He left for work…Peter went with him to spend time with him and see how Daddy did his job. I went to school, I was finishing my law degree," she paused and closed her eyes. "Someone turned on the television in time to see the second plane hit the south tower. Eighty-five minutes later one hit the pentagon."

Jenny just stopped. She reached for his abandoned jar of bourbon and he saw how much her hand was shaking when she took it and brought it to her lips for courage.

"I had this feeling in my stomach when I saw it," she went on hoarsely, "They shut down everything, chaos…you remember. And I had that feeling," Jethro could hear the distress in her voice; her eyes were catatonic with the recall, almost akin to PTSD. "Jim and Peter died. Killed on impact. I'll never see them again."

He stared at her, swallowing hard, reeling from the information.

"My _god_, Jen," he said hoarsely, forcing the words out. He shifted towards her, reaching out to touch her shoulders. A shiver went through her at the contact and she looked at him sharply. Her emerald eyes were so raw; brimming with all the emotion of those 'flashes' he was used to seeing.

She drew her hand from her back pocket and reached for her throat, her fingers fumbling at the soft v-neck of her sleeveless top, dipping into the fabric. She lifted out the silver chain and with it, the burnt dog tag; Jethro understood.

"Jim's commanding officer found it," she said thickly, "He wouldn't let me see the body. It's all I have," she bit her lip for a split second, and then she just shook her head. She wasn't going to continue.

She let the dog tag rest outside of her blouse.

"It has been six years," she said almost desperately, "And it still hurts like it happened this morning!"

She raised her eyes to the ceiling and turned away, pacing over to his boat. She leaned against it, her hand gripping one of the ribs until her knuckles were white.

He took a ragged breath, eyes roaming over her curves as he watched her struggle with her emotions. He couldn't imagine. He didn't want to. If he'd lost Kelly and Shannon both…he would have taken his own life in a heartbeat. There would have been nothing else.

He forced himself to think, to gauge her, to decide what she needed from him. It was overwhelming that she'd trusted so much to him, and because of that, he regretted keeping Shannon's death from her.

He turned, resolved, and jerked an empty mug towards him, rationing a generous amount of bourbon into it and shoving the bottle away. He picked it up and went to her, wrapping his arm around her waist to draw her attention.

She looked up from the boat, resting her temple against it, and reached shakily for the proffered alcohol, the darkness shrouding her face in shadow and helping hide the silent tears peppering it.

Jenny held the mug snugly, her watery eyes on the contents. She closed her heavy eyes and took a long draught. He recognized the need to drown it all. He'd experienced it. He had never seen Jenny in a state anything less than composed, and this was forcing him to realize how much he cared about her.

"I laid awake at night thinking about everything I'd tell Shannon if I had one more day," Jethro said gruffly, capitulating to the overwhelming need to bridge the gap of emotional trust she'd just created. She had told him what weighed her down; he had kept his secrets. "Still do, some nights."

Jenny nodded. She set the mug he'd given her down and leaned into him, her palm slipping down the wooden arches. Her brow wrinkled as she bit back tears. He rested his arm loosely over her shoulder, threading his fingers through her thick, crimson hair.

"I didn't tell you about Shannon," he said, thinking about his quasi-fight with Kelly over it earlier, "Kelly hates that I don't talk about her. Kelly doesn't understand; I was in the desert. Hadn't seen Shannon, heard her voice, anything, for so long. Never got to again. It was all I could think about," he paused, swallowing as he felt Jenny rest her head on his shoulder, her face buried in his shirt. "I couldn't face it. Sure as hell wasn't going to _share_ it."

For a moment, in the silence that fell, the overwhelming pain of hearing he'd never see Shannon again rushed through him, renewed; staggering. His head throbbed as the grainy images of the past flashed through his eyes. Loud, chaotic battlefields and his CO sitting him down in the middle of it to tell him.

_She's dead, Gunny. _

He had been left with a little girl who'd changed a lot since he saw her last, who he loved more than anything and yet hardly had a clue how to raise without a mother. Still he'd been so thankful for Kelly.

Jenny had lost everything.

She was drawing away from him, her eyes averted, anywhere but him. She took the mug of bourbon, drinking it, turning away, leaning against the boat. Jethro sat down on the edge of his handiwork, watching her. She swallowed the last of the bourbon and set the mug down, pushing a hand back through her hair.

"I need to go home," she said scratchily, drawing on the Dutch courage. She straightened her shoulders, fumbling towards her pocket for her keys. Jethro watched; it slowly registered as he watched her he couldn't let her drive. Not like this.

He didn't want her to go home alone.

He shook his head, and stood. She hadn't seen his negative movement. She looked distracted as she started walking; Jethro took her arm gently, trying not to startle her. She turned her eyes to his.

"Don't, Jen," he requested. "I don't want you to drive."

She parted her lips, holding her keys in her hand. Her eyes were vulnerable. He slid his hand down her arm and wrestled her keys from her gently, putting them on the boat.

"Let me go, Jethro," she said tiredly.

He shook his head.

"No, Jen," he denied firmly but gently. "Did you live there with your husband and your son?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes locked on his as if spellbound.

"Don't go home to that empty house," he said, letting a plea creep into his voice. "It will swallow you."

She looked at him and then she spun on her heal, pushing both her hands through her hair, tangling it mercilessly.

"Take my bed, Jen," he coaxed.

His constant use of that nickname was starting to break her down. Her father had only ever called her that, and then Jim, when she'd finally warmed up to him. She understood he wasn't offering to sleep with her; he was offering to let her be alone.

"I can't take your bed," she found herself saying, resisting.

"I don't care. I'll take the couch," he said gruffly. "Stay, Jenny."

She let out a shaky breath and disentangled her hands from her hair when he called her Jenny, unaccustomed to hearing it. She nodded in acquiescence and turned towards him. He turned as she did and went for the stairs, sparing her the indignity of scrutiny.

She took the familiar path to his bedroom, her body as tired as her mind was reeling. Her eyes fell on his chronically unmade bed and the discarded clothes strewn about and she spared what energy she had for a sad smile.

Jethro went to the closet and retrieved blankets, remembering that to anyone but him, the house was freezing. He handed her the blankets and she looked at him gratefully, expressing her thanks silently.

He failed in resisting the urge to touch her, and brushed his fingers across her cheek lightly.

"You know where to find me," he said, his fingers leaving her face almost too soon for her taste.

He left her alone, shutting the door tightly. He did resist the urge to stand outside the door to see if she cried. He owed her privacy if that's what he'd offered her. Jethro walked down the hall. For the first time in a good while, he opened Kelly's door softly and peeked in on her.

She was fast asleep on her back, sprawled over the bed tangled in sheets. She rolled over as he looked in and burrowed into her covers; Jethro smirked. He shut the door silently and looked in on Levi next, giving a soundless prayer of thanks.

He bypassed the couch. He may have told Jenny he'd take it, but from experience, he preferred the comfort of his boat.

Back in the basement, he forewent bourbon and stretched out under the boat, looking up at the foundation of the hobby he'd started when Shannon had asked him what the hell he planned on doing with a basement that barely had electricity.

Sleep was a farfetched idea after the events of the day and night. He lay awake with Shannon in the back of his mind, trying to come to grips with what Jenny revealed, and trying to find a way to empathize with the magnitude of the loss she'd suffered.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs groaned at the stiffness in his muscles when he woke up on the basement floor. It couldn't have been long that he'd managed to actually sleep, considering how tired he felt.

He crawled out from beneath the boat and stretched, rubbing the back of his neck. It was still all dark and quiet in his house, but he could hear cars outside and the louder birds and discerned it was early morning.

Jethro ran a hand through his hair and made his way up the stairs, alert for sounds of life: Kelly grumbling about her alarm clock, Levi jumping on things…_Levi_. Levi came in to wake Jethro up for breakfast sometimes.

Jethro swore under his breath, hoping this wasn't one of those mornings. He didn't know how Jenny would react to a kid tickling her awake.

Jethro relaxed a little when he saw Levi's door still tightly shut, and stopped outside of his own, taking the doorknob and knocking softly before he entered. It was dark and peacefully quiet in his room; he saw Jenny's form settled in the middle of the bed.

Stealthily, he crept towards his bureau, rooting around for fresh clothes.

"Don't bother being quiet," she announced tiredly. "I'm awake."

He shoved the drawer he was rummaging in shut and walked towards the bathroom, dropping them on the floor and flicking the light on. Jethro glanced out towards the bed to see Jenny shift and lay on her back, yawning.

He turned the water on, reaching for his razor and shaving cream.

"You want coffee?" he asked over the sound or trickling water.

"That was a dumb question," he heard her retort. He smiled.

He started to shave, one of his eyes trained on the mirror so he could see into the bedroom from the reflection. Jenny sat up slowly, taking in her surroundings, and got up from his bed. He averted his eyes as she approached.

Jenny leaned heavily against the door frame, still clad in her wrinkled clothing from last night. She ran a hand through her tangled, messy hair and watched him silently. An alarm went off faintly in the house and was silenced almost immediately.

"Get any sleep?" he asked mildly.

"No," she answered with a resigned shrug.

He shook out the razor in the sink and splashed water onto his face, examining the end product in the mirror.

She reached up behind him and yanked a bit of his hair that was sticking up at an odd angle. Glaring, he swatted her hand away. She arched an eyebrow.

"Pardon me for offering a helping hand," she murmured.

"_Helping_," he snorted, reaching self-consciously for the cow lick.

He stripped off his shirt and reached for the clean one on the counter, exchanging them. He caught sight of her face as he unbuttoned his jeans and she watched him expectantly as he changed those too, boxers and all.

"My compliments on the peep show," she murmured.

He smirked and turned off the faucet, turning his head to study her. She had the old disposition back, that is; she was acting the familiar way he knew her to. He'd determined that he'd take her lead and not probe her for information.

She touched the necklace almost unconsciously, looking back at him intently.

"I told you about Peter and Jim last night?" she asked quietly, half-statement, half-inquiry. Like she needed reassurance that she hadn't dreamt such an intimacy.

He nodded affirmatively, straightening up and turning towards her. She nodded, pressing her mouth closed tightly.

"Does anyone else know, Jen?" he asked neutrally, wary of being put in an awkward situation later if the subject came up. She paused.

"Anthony DiNozzo," she answered slowly.

Jethro nodded this time, reaching behind her to flip off the bathroom light. He let that hand drift to her shoulder and rubbed it, nodding towards the exit.

"Breakfast," he said purposefully, and she turned, leading the way out of the bedroom.

She glanced towards Kelly's closed door as she passed and the alarm they'd heard sounded again, followed by a thud and a muttered curse. Jethro smirked, turning the hall light on as he followed Jenny into the kitchen.

"You going to work today?" Jethro asked as he turned the kitchen light on as well and went immediately to the coffee maker.

"I'm not _not_ going to work today," she answered smartly, smiling as he rolled his eyes. She opened the refrigerator.

"I'll make you something," he offered.

He glanced behind him to see her shake her head minutely. She opened the crisper and selected one of the peaches.

"Not hungry," she said, finding a paper plate in his cabinet as well.

She waltzed over to the counter with a knife, the peach, and the paper plate and lazily began cutting it, falling silent with her concentration on the fruit. She looked up as she heard a thump down the hall.

"Leeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiiii," drawled Kelly from a distance, her own voice still laced with sleepiness. "Wake up, Punk."

"_Noooo_ Mommy," whined Levi. Jethro was familiar with the routine. He set the coffee brewing and retrieved clean mugs; a ceramic one for himself and one of Kelly's travelers for Jen.

"I'm sorry, Levi, I don't understand the language you're speaking," Kelly responded. "Five minutes!" she told him, her voice getting closer.

Jethro set the traveler cup next down to Jenny. She looked at it, up at him, and smiled softly. Jethro didn't return the smile; he put at comforting hand on her lower back and pulled her towards him a little, imagining the conflict she must feel around Levi.

She put her hands around the traveler cup and he leaned down to kiss her, brushing his lips over the corner of her mouth.

Kelly shuffled into the kitchen groggily in her pajamas, her hair a tangled mass and her eyes barely open. She shot them a baleful look.

"Get a room," she mumbled, opening the refrigerator in search of something to munch.

She chose a carton of milk and straightened up cautiously, turning slowly with a slightly suspicious look on her face. She pushed the fridge door shut, apparently remembering that Jenny had left last night, thus it didn't make sense Jenny was standing in the kitchen.

"Good morning," she said slowly, slightly loud, still giving them a suspicious look.

"Mornin', Kel," Jethro responded neutrally, shifting away from Jenny and pouring the coffee.'

Kelly blinked at her boss. She was wearing the same clothes as she had been last night. She didn't seem to be mad at Dad either. Kelly felt she had a right to be confused.

"This is awkward," she announced decisively, pulling cereal and a kid's plastic bowl out of the cabinet, muttering under her breath.

She looked between her father and Jenny with narrow eyes, watching the ghost of a smirk dance across her boss's mouth. She was just pouring Levi a bowl of Lucky Charms when said child of hers caused a loud _thunk_ and started crying in frustration.

She grumbled and set the cereal box down, glaring down the hall.

"What's he done this time?" she asked no one in particular, starting off.

"He probably tried to build a ladder to the top drawer of his bureau using Legos," Jethro announced.

Kelly paused and glanced back, giving him a disbelieving look.

"That doesn't make sense, Dad," she growled. "Where would he get a dumb ass idea like that?"

Jethro didn't respond right away.

"Er," he began and Kelly glared at him.

"Dad," she reprimanded in exasperation, stalking off as Levi began yelling for her.

Jenny raised her eyebrows slowly and took her cup from Jethro as he was topping it off, giving him a superior look.

"Legos don't support the weight of four-year-olds," she informed him, and winked. "For future reference. It might even be safe to say they do not support the weight of _parakeets_."

"I'll remember that," he muttered, taking a drink of his coffee.

Jenny looked at him mildly and took a sip of hers as well, closing her eyes. She reached up and rubbed her neck absently, her fingers brushing against the errant curls around her ears. She opened her green eyes and looked at him, her lips turning up a little.

"Do you feel awkward, Jethro?" she asked a little teasingly.

He shook his head slowly.

"No," he drawled lazily.

"Hmmm," Jenny murmured, taking another sip of her coffee. "Maybe there's something socially wrong with your offspring that induces her to react awkwardly to unfamiliar situations."

"Pardon me if walking into the kitchen to find myself faced with the disturbing reality that my father is, indeed, sleeping with my boss provokes an odd reaction," Kelly said sarcastically, re-entering the kitchen and picking up her abandoned milk carton with a glare.

She poured a liberal amount of milk into Levi's cereal and looked up at her father a little coldly before turning her gaze on Jenny.

"I suppose you made him read you in on the Intel that I actually did have a mother at one point," she remarked.

"Kelly," Jethro reprimanded sharply, turning a hard glare on his daughter. Regardless of Kelly's feelings in the matter, it was not her place to interfere in his relationship with Jenny. Kelly ignored him.

"Mind your own business, Kelly," Jenny said softly, and slightly dangerously. "With all due respect," she added offhandedly.

"He's my father," Kelly growled. "This is my business."

"_Kelly_-" Jethro started, stiffening uncomfortably in the sudden tense atmosphere.

"Mom, look!"

Levi interrupted it all, skidding into the kitchen, slipping in his socks, and showing Kelly the shirt he had on, buttoned crookedly and yet _buttoned_. He pointed excitedly.

"Buttoned by myself!" he announced, jumping up and landing on his feet, his bright eyes looking for approval. Kelly forced a smile. She reached down and cupped Levi's chin, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Way to go, little man," she congratulated sincerely. "C'mon, let's get some shorts to wear, hmmm?" she suggested, and turned Levi around with a soft push to his room. She followed him without a glance back and Jethro put an exasperated hand to his forehead.

"I don't know what her problem is," he muttered, glancing at Jenny.

"Consider, Jethro," Jenny said slowly, delicately, "She has never had to accustom herself to the idea that you're involved seriously with anyone but her mother."

Jethro looked at her impassively and shrugged, rubbing his chin. He felt a contentment at hearing the word 'serious'. He looked away and seemed lost in thought. Jenny turned her attention to her coffee cup. She took a comforting sip and reached for another slice of the peach she was working on, sifting through her myriad of emotions silently.

She shivered suddenly as the cold metal of Jim's dog tag brushed against her skin and reached up to finger it thoughtfully, thinking of Peter. She missed them more than anything. It felt so alien to be standing with Jethro, aware that she'd voluntarily told him.

It was drastically out of character for her to have stayed at his house, allowed his small forms of comfort. He was different, though, in the way he handled such a revelation. She could not accurately explain it.

"LEVI MICHAEL!"

Jenny looked towards the annoyed yell in amusement. Levi appeared seconds later, running down the hallway as if escaping, laughing madly. He scampered into the kitchen again and crashed into Jenny, jumping back.

"Jenn-eeee!" He squealed, pointing triumphantly to his favorite pair of underwear. "LOOK! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!"

Jenny looked interestedly.

"Do they give you super powers?" she asked seriously.

"I use the big kid potty!" he responded just as seriously, nodding.

Jenny widened her eyes.

"You must be one of them! Which one are you Levi? If that is your real name. Michelangelo?" she asked, inching closer to him. "Hmmm? Leonardo? Raphael?!"

Levi shrieked with excitement.

"Levi. Come put your pants on. NOW," barked Kelly. She stalked into the kitchen and Levi gave a terrified gasp, leaping behind Jenny and peeking at his mom through Jen's legs. Jethro watched the exchanges quietly, smiling at his grandson.

"Save me!" Levi hissed to Jenny, looking up apologetically.

Jenny remained neutral this time. She was well aware, having been a mother, that anyone interfering when someone was trying to get something done with their child was not looked upon fondly.

"Miss Jenny doesn't want to see your briefs, son," muttered Kelly, reaching around Jenny's legs brazenly and snatching her offspring up, glaring at him worthy of his grandfather.

Levi giggled and buried his head in Kelly's shoulder, grinning bashfully at Jenny.

"Sorry," Kelly murmured, hitching him up on her waist, "He kept saying he wanted to show you. I didn't expect him to bite me and go charging down the hall."

Jenny shrugged good-naturedly, her eyes on the kid.

"Oh, you know me and my briefs fetish, Probie," she said airily, flashing Jethro a look. "God, I hope you have a matching pair."

His eyes narrowed even though her comment was clearly sarcastic.

"Ew," Kelly muttered under her breath.

Levi pulled on her hair and she was about to snap at him when he lurched forward and gave her a messy kiss on the cheek, patting her hair gently.

"Love you, Mommy."

Kelly beamed, wrinkling her nose at the kiss.

"Suck up," she accused, whirling around with a delighted smile on her face. She hugged him and started back down the hall. "I kinda love you too, kid," they heard her say.

Jenny touched her necklace. Jethro moved up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, massaging her arms and leaning down to kiss her shoulder gently.

"Jen," he said calmly.

"Don't say anything stupid," she interrupted shortly. He assumed she meant nothing like 'are you okay?' or 'just don't think about it'. He was right; she didn't want to hear it. But he, of all people, would never have said something so boorish.

"Wasn't gonna," he shrugged.

"Decidedly arguable," she responded mockingly. He reached up and flicked her lightly in the ear in retaliation for the smart ass comment.

"Was gonna offer you a ride to work," he said, kissing her shoulder again. Levi and Kelly could be heard talking to each other in the background.

She stayed silent and enjoyed his caress for a moment, before turning and gently extricating herself from his grip.

"Offer declined," she said mildly, looking up at him with an unfathomable expression. "I am going home tonight, Jethro," she told him quietly. She shrugged.

He nodded. He understood. He would spend a lot of time with the boat tonight, if she was gone and he was left alone to stumble through his thoughts. She reached towards the counter and retrieved her traveler mug, securing it in her grip with a half smug smile.

"I'll take the coffee you so kindly crafted," she conceded.

"I'll get your keys," he said gruffly.

Jenny rolled her eyes and smacked him with her knuckles, giving him a patronized look.

"Fear not, Sir Leroy, I can manage getting my own damn keys," she informed him, disappearing into the basement in the next moment. He smirked and ran a hand through his cropped hair, thinking about where to go next.

He wandered into the hall and found Jenny's shoes sitting neatly by the door. He looked at them, unable to remember her being barefoot last night. She materialized next to him and slipped her feet into the sandals that possessed the most modest of heels.

He liked the way she came and went as she pleased. It was familiar in a way that he wasn't used to, and that he missed. It was easy to be with Jenny, and yet it wasn't boring.

"Jethro," she said, looking up at him with a smattering of vulnerability, "It might be a few days. I might want to be alone. I might want to get drunk," she paused and flashed a small smirk, "I might be…"

It was the first time Jethro had ever seen Jenny fumble for words.

He nodded, his eyes lowering to her throat when he noticed she'd tucked her late husband's charred dog tag back into her shirt. He reached for the chain and slowly drew it out, leaving in the open as a gesture of good faith.

"Sometimes it's weeks," he said with a shrug, referring to the times it literally had bee, during long cases or out of state work. "I'll be here."

"Oh, I wasn't worried," she said flippantly, "The boat's not finished, so I know you won't be running off anytime soon."

She smiled, and he was struck by how pretty her smile was.

Levi came banging down the hall, getting louder, following by Kelly, looking stressed as she started grabbing her purse and other things from random places. Jethro had an idea, a tentative one that he wasn't sure Jenny would react well to.

"Jen," he said quietly, and she looked at him neutrally. "Levi's fifth birthday's coming up, end of August. Why don't you celebrate with us?"

Jenny blinked at him slowly and looked at the kid who had started peeking around the corner and growling at them quietly. She seemed to be unable to pick the right answer for herself.

"I think it's a good idea, Shep," Kelly said with a nice smile, watching Levi with a weird look and rolling her eyes as she handed him his backpack. "He takes to you. I was going to ask a few of the team."

Jenny looked at Kelly, unreadable, and back at Jethro.

"Okay," she agreed, her eyes on Jethro.

Kelly nodded in approval and turned her attention to Levi sharply as he kicked the wall, to her displeasure. Jethro reached for the door and opened it for Jenny; she rolled her eyes characteristically and wrestled his hand away, indicting herself feministic.

She paused, though, before leaving, and reached up with both hands. She pulled his mouth to hers firmly and kissed him in spite of Kelly, her fingers brushing the back of his neck lightly. She put her lips close to his ear when she broke away.

"You're a good man," she said quietly, pecking his cheek chastely. She let her hand fall innocently from him and slipped out the door without another word, her shoulders set. Jethro shut the door mechanically, glancing at Kelly apprehensively.

She'd paused in helping Levi with shoes, her eyes on her father studiously.

"What was that about?" she asked softly, obviously perceptive enough to pick up on the emotion.

It wasn't often she saw her father or her boss in blatant displays of affection—of any kind.

Jethro shrugged and watched his daughter go back to helping Levi with his shoes, coaxing him to try and tie them himself. He smiled as she stuck her tongue out at the munchkin and blew teasingly in his hair, acutely reminded of Shannon. Kelly was the spitting _image_ of her mother.

Jethro smiled again, almost nostalgically. He figured a visit to Shannon at Arlington wouldn't be too hard, today.

* * *

_Hard to write. Emotionally, that is.  
-Alexandra_


	10. 9

_A/N: I am quite glad you all are enjoying the story:) Just note here I've made myself a hypocrite by having Levi at a bowling --I'm not sure if 5 is considered 'young' for bowling or not, but regardless I HATE when people have kids that young running around at the alley. *shuts mouth*. _

* * *

Kelly Gibbs smiled as she watched her son shove a bowling ball down the lane with the help of Abby Scuito. Even if the particular ball he was using weighed a maximum of seven pounds, it was comical to watch Levi bowl.

Five-years-old might be a little young for bowling, but it was his birthday and Kelly wanted to do something he hadn't done before. She was glad the team had been eager to celebrate with them. It gave her a feeling of having a big family for Levi.

McGee nudged her in the shoulder as he resumed his spot next to her, handing her a coke that he'd retrieved from the concession stand. She smiled gratefully and thanked him.

"It's my turn to bring you a drink," he said warmly. She brought him coffee every single morning. Kelly laughed and nodded at the small cup in McGee's hand.

"That mine too?" she asked, lifting her eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, no," he stammered sheepishly, showing her the slushy contents of the drink. "It's a slushy for Levi."

"Oh," Kelly said solemnly, looking up at McGee. "Beware that if you give that to him, he will forever consider you his best friend."

McGee smiled and shrugged.

"Levi," he said, holding it up when Levi looked over from where Abby was trying to keep him from dashing down the bowling lane. "You said cherry slush, right?"

Levi leapt excitedly away from Abby and darted over to McGee, throwing himself eagerly at the agent's knees and reaching for the cup.

"What do you say?" Kelly asked, giving him a look.

"It's my birthday!" he replied smartly, and Kelly laughed.

"Smart kid," Tony remarked seriously, wrestling a bowling ball away from Kate. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Behave, Children," Jenny ordered mildly. McGee handed Levi his slushy.

"Thank you TIM!" yelled Levi, snatching it close. He threw his little body halfway over McGee's knee and beamed up at Kelly excitedly. "Me 'n' Abby knocked down TWO PINS!"

Kelly giggled, patting his head fondly. So he didn't understand the concept of the game, it didn't matter. He was having the time of his life—and Tony didn't have to worry about letting the kid win because Levi seemed to think the more pins you knocked down, the worse you were doing.

Levi pointed at Tony teasingly as the senior agent pulled off another strike and started jumping around excitedly.

"DiTony is bad at bowling," he hissed, and Kate laughed at the disheartened look on Tony's face.

"Kid, my name is just _Tony_. Sheesh. For the last time!" Tony pleaded.

Kate kicked Tony in the shin and Levi laughed hysterically when Tony squealed girlishly.

"Hey, Levi, can I help you next?" Kate asked nicely, looking up at the screen. "I'll tell you all DiTony's real nicknames."

"Abby might be jealous," Levi answered seriously, looking over at the excitable Goth. She giggled and gave Kate and Levi a thumbs up.

"Your turn, McGutter-Ball," Tony leered, giving McGee a mocking look. "Go show Levi how to do it."

Levi scrambled away from McGee, over his knees, and into Kelly's lap, turning to watch McGee with rapt attention. Kelly wrapped him in a bear hug and kissed his cheek, resting her chin on his head and watching as Tim reluctantly picked up a bowling ball.

"Oh, McGee," sighed Abby fondly, collapsing into the chair he'd occupied. She smirked at Kelly and they watched as Tony mocked the Geek.

"C'mon, McSporticus, you can do it!"

"Shut-up, DiNozzo, you're losing, remember?" Kate teased, smiling at Levi. Levi nodded vigorously.

"Hey, Jenny's glaring at you," Abby pointed out to Tony. He looked over to the bench where Jenny was with Kelly's dad and noticed her sharp eyes on him. Tony quieted demurely.

"Good luck, McGee," he said seriously.

Kelly smirked. She tapped Levi lightly on the back and handed him off to Abby, taking pity on McGee.

"Timmy," she said in exasperation as he started to swing his arm back. "Tim, Jesus, let me show you how to throw it…"

Tony cackled with amusement and Kate folded her arms, sharing a look with Abby as Kelly rolled her eyes and showed McGee which technique would help him most.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs watched the antics with silent contentment. Celebrating his grandson's fifth birthday like this gave him a chance to observe the people Kelly worked with and pass judgments on them.

Of course, he'd already made a few steadfast judgments on the one sitting next to him.

Jenny snorted as she watched Tony mock McGee. Levi stood up on Abby's lap holding his slushy and watched raptly as Kelly stepped back to watch McGee make his shot.

"Ten bucks says he strikes," Jenny murmured to Jethro.

He snorted skeptically.

"In the absence of a legitimate answer from you, I'll take that as an acceptance of the bet," Jenny stated, narrowing her eyes as McGee threw the ball down the lane. He knocked every single pin down.

Jenny smirked triumphantly as the team, barring Tony (who just looked shell-shocked) burst into applause and cheers for Tim. She turned her coquettish eyes on Jethro and noticed he was still starring with narrow eyes at McGee and glanced back.

"Ah," she murmured, as Kelly hugged McGee with a huge smile and gave him a playful kiss on the cheek, punching him in the arm for good measure. Levi, even if he thought McGee had lost, smiled and hugged his legs, eager to be included in the fun.

"Is there something there?" Jethro asked gruffly, nodding at his daughter and McGee. "Them?"

Jenny shrugged, non-committal, and took her beer from the seat next to her, taking a slow drink.

"They're _both_ dancing circles around it," she commented.

"You don't put up with that," Jethro said, turning to Jenny sharply. "Team mates dating? Or dancing?" he asked with a growl. Jenny smirked, locking her eyes on his and shaking her head slowly.

"Rule twelve," she stated, "Never date a coworker. But, alas, Jethro, I just don't have it in my gentle little heart to let them know that they are not, in fact, pulling the wool over my eyes and/or being subtle. I find it much too cute that they think they're going to get it past me."

"Humph," scoffed Jethro, glaring at McGee unbeknownst to the dorky agent.

Jenny laughed at him took another drink of her beer, looking around the bowling alley with a critical eye. It was a busy Friday night, with a mixture of teenagers, families, and odds and ends such as the group she was with.

This was odd in and of itself. Jenny Shepard didn't spend her time out side of work hanging out with her team. She spent it alone with work at home, or more recently of late with Jethro.

Kelly was nudging Tony and McGee back to take her turn, claiming she didn't want them crowding her.

"Levi, come help Mommy," she said.

Levi scampered.

"Speaking of that child," Jenny said, pointing at Levi as he stood next to his mother encouragingly. "I acquired him a birthday gift."

"Kelly said no gifts," Jethro said sternly.

"Kelly doesn't have the authority to boss me around," Jenny retorted, smiling wickedly.

"What'd you get him?"

"Patience, patience, Cowboy," Jenny purred, pinching his arm. "I've dropped it off at your house to surprise him. Left it in your basement."

Jethro glared at her suspiciously. He didn't trust such a mysterious, ambiguous statement at all. Not one little bit.

"_What_ did you get him?" he repeated apprehensively.

Jenny just smiled blithely and took a drink of her beer, batting her eyelashes. Jethro grumbled and pulled her hair playfully, earning himself a kick to the ankle with the pointy end of a Steve Madden heel.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" he muttered, glaring at her.

Jenny set her beer down and patted his chest patronizingly, scooting closer and giving him a very wide-eyed look.

"Easy, Jethro. There's nothing in the least to worry about. Once you take a look at its big, puppy eyes, you'll never be able to be the least bit angry…"

_Puppy eyes._

Jethro stared at her with his mouth open, turning his suspicion into a scowl in seconds.

"Jen, you didn't," he growled.

She gave him a sweet look.

"_Puppy_ eyes," he groaned, the pieces half-fitting together. He gave her a look of pure horror after it clicked for real. "And you left it with the BOAT?!"

"GUNNY! JENNY!"

Jethro's distress was put on hold as Levi dove in between them and hopped up, jumping on the bench.

"Mommy got a spare! Mommy beat DiTony!" he informed them ecstatically, pointing eagerly at the rest of the team. Tony looked dejected. Kelly looked prim. McGee was, in an interesting turn of events, laughing at Tony's defeat.

"Your turn, Bucko," Kelly shouted, holding up his smaller sized bowling ball.

"Luck," Levi demanded, turning to Jethro and holding up his hand for a high-five. "Give luck, Gunny!"

Jethro complied and Levi saluted him, whirling back to Jenny.

"You help me this time," he said seriously, and bent down to whisper, "I think Kate and Abby are bad at this."

Jenny snickered and hesitated in her movements, looking at Levi searchingly.

"I'll help you, Levi," Jethro said gruffly, shifting forward.

"No! Jenn-eeee!" Levi retorted, glaring at Jethro. Jenny looked past Levi's small shoulders with a superior, arrogant look.

"I do not believe your name is Jenny, Jethro," she said loftily. She gave Levi an indulgent look, wrinkled her nose, and nodded in agreement. "You'll have to go pick up the ball though. I don't know if I'm strong enough…"

Levi clapped and jumped off the bench, dashing to take the ball from Kelly. Jenny stood up as Jethro slipped his arm from around her shoulders, giving her an unreadable look.

"I am not going to have a meltdown, Jethro," she said sharply, hardly looking at him, "just because there's a kid around."

She pushed her hair out of her face, securing it behind her ears, and traipsed off after Levi, heels clicking. Jethro watched her, his eyes roaming over her just a little, and watched her crouch down next to his grandson, putting her arm around his shoulders and pointing instructionally.

He looked at the scene hesitantly, imagining Jenny with her own son. He found it somewhat surprising that such a thing was easy to do. She had hard edges and a quick, witty tongue, but the soft gentility in her was blended well with that demeanor.

Jethro was glad he had invited her to Levi's birthday celebration, but he watched her interaction with his grandson with caution, wondering how it made her feel.

* * *

"Hey mini Gibbs, need help blowing out those candles?" Tony asked eagerly, pushing through the people to worm in next to Levi as he clambered up onto one of the bowling alley chairs to see his little birthday cake.

He shook his head firmly.

"NO!" he cried, pointing individually to each candle. "I'm five. I can do it myself!" he informed Tony, and rolled his eyes.

Tony held up his hand with a grin.

"Jeez, kid, you look like your mom when you do that," he said.

"'Cept Mom carries a gun," Kelly said pleasantly, shoving Tony out of her way so she could take her place next to Levi and holding up the lighter she held. "Right, Levi?"

"Not allowed to touch," Levi answered her solemnly.

"Good Levi," she cooed, kissing his head and clicking the flame to life on the lighter. Levi clapped excitedly and watched her light his candles carefully. Abby snapped pictures furiously, grinning like a madwoman.

Levi looked up and stuck his tongue out. He leaned towards his cake eagerly but Kelly grabbed him warningly by the scruff of his neck.

"You're too old to shove your face in it this year, boy," she said, giving him a look.

"He was too old last year," grumbled Jethro, remembering the mess there'd been to clean up.

"I'm sure you shoved your face into your fair share of cakes, Daddy," Kelly retorted, rolling her eyes.

Jethro glared.

"We all have," Tony said solemnly, nudging Jethro. Jethro just glared at the younger man. Tony stopped smiling. Kelly punched Jethro in the shoulder.

"Stop," she growled pointedly. "Sing," she ordered, looking at everyone.

Abby was by far the most enthusiastic 'Happy Birthday' carouser. She appeared to have made up a dance. Levi progressively puffed out his chest as he prepared to blow out his candles when the song was over.

Kelly tapped him on the shoulder when it was time and he excitedly let out his breath with a _whoosh_!, dousing all the candles.

He pointed to the cake and screamed:

"LOOK!"

"Awesome job, Levi!" Kelly exclaimed. "You know that means your wish will come true?"

Levi nodded proudly and held up his hand for the nearest person to high-five him. He received one from a smiling Kate, but Abby just stumbled through them and picked him up, squeezing him until he turned blue.

"Let's eat cake!" she cried, jumping up to the table.

Levi squirmed out of her arms and resumed his chair, ordering Kelly to give him the part of the cake with his name on it—no, the Spiderman part—no! The one with his name.

"I just want a small piece," Kate said, when Kelly offered it to her.

Tony rolled his eyes and shoved forward.

"Well I'll take the rest of Kate's piece and a big piece. Because I enjoy life," he announced, making a face at Kate.

"And that's why Kelly and I chase down suspects faster," Kate retorted disdainfully, taking her petite piece.

"I don't have to chase suspects!" Abby said brightly, holding out a paper plate. "Load her up, Kelly!"

Kelly laughed. Levi snatched a plastic fork from Jethro and tucked into his piece of cake happily, still managing to get icing on his face.

"Must you be so messy, Levi?" Kelly muttered, shaking her head.

"Hey, he's got something in common with the Probe-meister!" Tony sniggered, pointing at the glob of icing McGee had managed to fumble onto his shirt. Kelly giggled as McGee tried to clean up, sitting down next to Levi and reaching for a paper napkin.

"Here, Tim!" Levi said, waving one at him. "Mommy hates messes!"

"We know," answered about four people at once, earning a glare from Kelly.

Jethro snorted.

"Dad, you want some?" Kelly asked, holding up the cutting knife menacingly at his laughter. He shook his head, making a face.

"Right, you don't like sweets unless Jenny's feeding them to you," Kelly muttered, earning a horrified look from Tony. Kelly snickered at her own tease.

"Where's Shep, anyway?" Kate asked.

Abby perked up and looked around, pigtails dancing.

"Oooh," she squealed mystically, "She did that thing where she slinks off mysteriously into nowhere again!"

Kelly looked at Jethro expectantly but he just shrugged. He didn't know where Jen had gone; he hadn't noticed her slip away. Something told him, though, that it had something to do with the overwhelming display of affection between Kelly and Levi. Or, perhaps, just the overdose of Levi himself.

He was not even quite sure how long she'd been missing. Things had gotten hectic when they'd finished bowling and taken Levi to the arcade part of the center, having had to chase him around and watch him like a hawk.

"She's probably puncturing the tires on Tony's car," Kate snorted. "Again," she added and Tony shot her a look. He didn't say anything. Kelly shrugged and cut Jenny a piece of cake anyway.

"She'll reappear and scare the hell out of us all," she said cheerily, and then winced and looked at Levi sternly. "Mommy said a bad word. Don't repeat it."

"Since when is 'hell' a bad word?" Tony asked loudly, looking confused.

Abby smacked him.

"It's the context!" McGee said, rolling his eyes.

The group had resumed their banter and attention to Levi, apparently accustomed to their leader's disappearances. Jethro quietly excused himself as if to use the head, but as he was turning away, Tony DiNozzo put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

Jethro gave the deviant agent a cool look, annoyed at being stopped. Tony pointed towards a side exit of the building.

"She went out that way."

Jethro looked at him impassively for a moment.

"How long?" he asked gruffly.

"Half an hour?" Tony estimated. He looked towards the exit. He wasn't at looking at Jethro when he continued, in a low voice. "She said she told you about Jim and Peter."

Jethro nodded tightly.

Tony looked at Jethro determinedly.

"She'll want a drink. She won't get it herself, because then she won't stop," he offered neutrally.

Jethro gave the younger man a look of developing respect. It seemed Tony had been around to deal with this before. He gave Tony a more accepting nod this time but Tony just looked away, towards the exit he'd pointed to, and then bounded off with a smile plastered back on his face to join in the fun.

Jethro slipped away towards the concessions area and purchased Jenny a beer, fervently wishing for a good shot of Jack Daniels at a time like this. He left the cacophony of the bowling hall through the exit Tony had directed him to, and paused outside the door to glance around.

To the left was an employee, leaning against the wall and smoking obliviously. To the right was Jenny, sitting on the hood of her car. The car had been moved; she'd parked with everyone else at the beginning of the night.

Jethro wandered over to her and climbed up next to her, nudging her hand with the bottle of Corona. She took it wordlessly, while Jethro shot a menacing glare at the kid smoking. Smoking Kid promptly stomped out his cigarette and slunk into the bowling hall.

Jenny took a drink of the beverage and looked up at the stars, her eyes narrow.

"Miss me?" she asked, shooting him a look through her eyelashes.

"Only when DiNozzo opened his mouth," he retorted, shrugging.

She smirked half-heartedly.

"Damn, you _really_ missed me."

He shrugged good-naturedly and nudged her shoulder. She didn't quite play back with him, instead looking down at her hands clasped around the bottle.

"You take a drive?" Jethro asked.

"I performed a highly classified, covertly important errand," she answered, glancing over at him again. She smiled a little. "I checked to make sure Levi's present hadn't eaten your boat."

Jethro glared at her and muttered darkly under her breath. He gave her mischievous face a dirty look.

"Thanks for getting me a puppy, _Jen_," he said sarcastically.

She lifted her brows, questioning him.

"Levi's starting kindergarten in a few weeks. Kelly works," he clarified, indicating he'd be home with the dog.

Jenny shrugged and gave him a sly grin.

"Retribution, in Kelly's name," she said, and when Jethro looked suspicious and a bit confused, she clarified her own statement: "She whined that you never let her have a puppy."

Jethro glared at nothing and no one in particular. Kelly just wasn't going to let that go, apparently. One Christmas present she just didn't end up getting and she had to pout about it to the whole world.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Jethro wondered what was going on inside her head; what she was thinking about. Maybe she'd already chased the sorrow out of her system for now. She wasn't acting as if she was affected.

"How long did you wear your wedding ring?" Jenny asked quietly. "After Shannon died," she murmured in addition.

He looked over at her and noticed she'd reached up absently to run her fingers along the thin silver chain of her late husband's charred dog tag.

"I didn't," he answered shortly. It was the honest answer, but he couldn't really tell her why. He couldn't say he didn't like looking at it, because he'd often stared at it endlessly. It just felt like Shannon was still there when the simple gold band was on his finger, and he hadn't been able to bear it.

She didn't say anything; she took a drink of her beer.

"Peter started kindergarten the week before the attacks. He loved it."

He looked at her steadily, but she didn't look at him—until a few moments later, moments that had been silent, when she knitted her brows just slightly and gave him an almost frustrated look.

"Why do I tell you these things?" she murmured. It may have been rhetorical; it may have demanded an answer. He responded:

"It's part of the charm," and turned towards her, touching her face and taking the drink away from her carelessly. Her eyes were brighter than usual. He tactfully ignored it and studied her face, a face he found so captivating and beautiful.

He ran his calloused thumb over her bottom lip and she bit him gently, wrinkling her nose. He tangled his hand in her hair and pulled forward; placing a lingering kiss to her temple where skin met her crimson hair.

He hesitated briefly.

Then asked:

"Is it hard for you to be around Levi?" Cautiously; he was simply trying to find a way to take away some of the heartache she might stumble across. She just shrugged.

"I cannot explain how it feels," she answered dully. "I don't talk about my feelings, Jethro," she added airily.

"Yeah, me neither."

"I suppose that's why I haven't kicked your ass to the curb yet," Jenny quipped. "Predominately because you don't make it your business to bother me about it or care."

"I do," he said sharply, correcting her before he had a chance to think. The comment stung him before he processed _why_ it bothered him. "Care," he mumbled.

She looked at him and swallowed when he said that. She glanced downwards and up at the stars intently.

"Well, I'm mighty appreciative," she said quietly, affecting a slight southern twang.

He worried about her, and slipped his hand to the back of her neck, stroking gently. She tilted her head back farther and he watched her relax, watched her chest and throat as she breathed in the summery night air.

"I care," he informed her grumpily again, still annoyed. Jenny rolled her eyes behind her lids. She hadn't meant him to take it the way he did.

"This is the part where we have sex because you're so sweet," she informed him, deadpan.

"You trying to seduce me, woman?"

She peeked on eye open in amusement.

"It was sort of a statement of fact, but if you want to play seduction games…"

He narrowed his eyes at her and growled, sliding his hand down her back and snaking it around her fit waist, snatching her towards him. He pressed his mouth to her throat and grazed his teeth against her carotid artery.

She was completely malleable to him when he assaulted her neck; it was something he'd previously discovered.

He placed a light trail of kisses up her neck to her jaw, and found her green eyes searching for him when he reached her lips, kissing gently. She slipped her hand over his thigh, fingers dancing up the inseam of his jeans.

He groaned softly when she touched him, teasing through denim.

She wanted to take him home and be with him. Not to forget about Jim or block Peter from her mind but because she wanted Jethro. This kind of intimacy—emotional and physical—with a man had been absent from her life for a while.

She flattened her hand against his abdomen and pushed him back a little, giving him a look sure to send shivers through him.

"What do you say we quit this little _soiree_ fashionably early?"

Her voice was alluring, her hand warm on his skin through his shirt. He smirked roguishly and she removed herself adroitly from the car, jingling keys that quickly materialized in her hand. He got into her car, having travelled here with Kelly and Levi.

The irony of the two most senior members of the night's festivities ditching early for a bed and a locked door brought a wicked smirk to Jenny's lips, which in turn gave Jethro some peace of mind.

* * *

Kelly fumbled with her key with an indulgent smile on her face as she listened to Levi chattering incessantly to Tim about how much fun they were going to have playing the _Shrek_ video game.

"I get to be Shrek, but you can be donkey and we can be on a team! Mommy can be Fiona since Gunny's not here—"

Kelly laughed as she finally managed to get the door open.

"Levi, Granpa will kill you if you tell people he plays Fiona," she admonished in amusement as Levi darted through the door past her. Tim snorted.

"I can't really see _your_ dad being the Princess," he commented in disbelief.

"No?" Kelly asked, shutting the door tightly behind her. "You should have seen him rock the Cinderella tiara on my fifth birthday," she informed him matter-of-factly, hanging up her purse on the hook.

She stopped in the hallway suddenly. She turned slowly to look at Tim. She thought she heard muffled, pitiful yelping.

"Did you hear--?"

"MOMMY!" screamed Levi from the basement, and she darted for the stairs, followed by Tim.

It was when she was halfway down the treacherous stairs that she realized Levi's scream had been one of pure joy and excitement. The reason was tied to her father's boat, wriggling and wagging its tail excitedly, an overkill blue bow tied around its neck.

"Mommy! Look! A puppy! I got a puppy!" he cried, leaping up and down. He scrambled onto the boat and picked up a gnawed bone that had been next to the little, fluffy German Shepherd puppy.

"How do you know that's yours, Levi?" Kelly muttered, wincing as she looked at the gift. She glanced back at Tim in exasperation as she made her way down the stairs.

"He says my name," Levi said, stomping his foot and scrambling onto the boat. He reached for the puppy and it leapt towards him, barking excitedly, and glad to have company.

The bow around him had Levi drawn on it in glitter glue.

"Jenny," muttered Kelly darkly, watching with a slow smile as her delighted son wrestled with the excitable puppy.

"She wouldn't," Tim said, shaking his head.

Kelly raised her eyebrow and gave him a look.

He bowed his head a little.

"She would," he corrected.

"Oh, she would," Kelly reaffirmed, rolling her eyes.

She shook her head and swiveled back to Levi. That is when complete disaster caught her eye in the form of a chewed up leash and a very scratched up, bite-ridden rib of her father's precious boat.

"Jesus Christ," swore Kelly, her eyes going wide as she approached the marred section of the boat. Tim looked over her shoulder, wincing. Levi looked up in interest and gasped loudly. Even the just-turned-five-year-old knew the implications of such a catastrophe.

"Dad's going to stroke. No; he'll have a coronary—_no_," Kelly gasped, shaking her head in disbelieve. "_Both_."

Levi buried his head in the puppy's fur and giggled. Kelly straightened, her hand on the injured boat, and turned solemnly to Tim.

"Jenny may have never before been as close to death as she will be when he sees this," she said darkly.

"Uh, isn't that a bit dramatic, Kelly?" Tim stammered.

"No. No it is not, McGee," she answered seriously.

He stared at her, performing a relatively good imitation of a goldfish. He now had another reason to add to his list entitled 'Why I am frightened of Kelly's Father'.

Kelly watched Levi for a moment and turned sly back to Tim.

"You're off the hook in regards to Shrek the videogame. He'll be preoccupied for days," she remarked.

"I wouldn't have minded Shrek," Tim said, shrugging good-naturedly.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy some nice, adult coffee time more," Kelly said with a laugh. "That is what I promised you. I'll go get a brew started.

She retreated up to the kitchen, and Tim was left alone in Jethro's basement with Levi and his new puppy. He approached the kid and reached for a folded white piece of paper that lay next to the chewed leash.

He picked it up, glancing at Levi.

The note, scripted in his boss's flowy, elegant handwriting, snarkily confirmed that the puppy was indeed from Jenny.

"Wha's it say?" Levi asked curiously, peeking at Tim over his new puppy's head as he hugged it lovingly.

"Says it's from Jenny," Tim answered, showing the note politely.

Levi beamed.

"I like her! Gunny likes her too," Levi leaned forward and the puppy tumbled over, kicking its feet in the air, begging attention from Levi. "Sometimes he kisses her here." Levi touched Tim's lips. "I'm not s'pose to see!" he said secretively.

McGee smirked.

"I won't tell," he said truthfully. He liked Levi a lot. He usually didn't do well around kids, but Levi was a good one, and he was oddly well-behaved.

"Hey, Timmy, if that punk stars driving you crazy just do what I do and steal his nose!" Kelly called playfully down the stairs, and Levi gasped and covered his face.

Tim stuck his tongue out towards Kelly and then put a finger to his lips to indicate that was a secret. Levi laughed and nodded, mirroring the action.

"Tim, do you know how to play Lego Star Wars?" Levi asked loudly, distracted by the puppy and yet always questioning.

"Of course," Tim answered. Levi beamed. He swiped his small hand at the puppy's feet and the puppy growled at him adorably, nipping at his fingers. Levi chucked and squirmed away, growling at the puppy right back.

"You should name him, Levi," Tim suggested.

"What name?" Levi asked curiously.

"Uh," Tim fumbled. "Rex or Butch?"

"That's dumb!" Levi responded instantly, and Tim snorted.

"Be nice to Tim, Levi," Kelly reprimanded mildly, coming down the stairs with two coffee cups. She handed one to Tim and he thanked her gratefully.

"What name, Mommy?" Levi asked seriously, standing up and walking over to her. The puppy pounced on his feet, still wriggling contentedly.

Kelly looked at the dog, still exasperated and in disbelief that Jenny had pulled such a stunt. Then again; it was Jenny. Unexpected was the name of her game.

"You could name it after your grandfather," she suggested with a smirk.

"That's dumb too," Levi told her with a mini-Jethro glare. She shrugged.

"Well nothing's pleasing you tonight, little prince," she retorted, smiling fondly at him. He gave her a look and ran off, climbing off the boat and then hoisting the puppy down with him to play on the floor.

"I can't believe he's five," Kelly muttered, taking a drink.

"How old where you when he was born?" Tim asked. She'd already told them all, but he kept forgetting.

"Nineteen," she answered. "It was pretty scary," she continued voluntarily, turning to look at Tim thoughtfully. She lowered her voice a little. "When I told Levi's father, he hardly batted and eyelid, just said he'd pay for the abortion. I told him that wasn't a remote option; he told me I was on my own. That was pretty much the end of it."

She shrugged a little. She had dealt with this particular issue a long time ago. She did not mind talking about it now. Jenny knew a lot more than Tim, and Tim and Jenny knew quite a bit more than her father did.

"That's a really awful thing to do," Tim said, looking annoyed. "I hate—"

"Well, yeah, _you_ would think so, Tim. You actually have a soul," she interrupted breezily. He flushed a little at the compliment. "You never know. It was a blessing in disguise. Dad was good about it. I think he thought it was his fault," Kelly paused and smiled a little sympathetically for her father. She took a drink of her coffee. "But he also thinks that's the first time I had sex, so he's slightly delusional."

McGee snorted again.

Levi started giggling as the yet-to-be-named puppy began barking and chasing its tail.

Kelly smiled at him. She was glad she had invited Tim back for coffee. She had acted upon the opportunity after Jenny and Dad had pulled that weird disappearing-act-slash-booty call and she knew she'd have the house to herself.

She looked back at Tim and he smiled and turned a little red. Poor Tim. He was such a bumbler sometimes.

"Um, Kelly?"

"Um, Tim?"

"You said your birthday was in a few weeks?" he asked hesitantly.

"I did say that," she answered neutrally. "September twenty-ninth, to be perfectly exact."

"Right. Um, could I maybe take you—take you out? On your birthday? For Dinner? Like a date? If—you know, if you want to?"

Kelly smirked and then laughed, amused.

"Tim, that question should not have been so difficult for you," she said, rolling her eyes. She paused and took a slow sip of her coffee, looking at him with sparkling eyes. "And yes. You could. And I want to."

He grinned. She got the impression he was rather pleased with himself. She allowed him that.

"Mommy's birthday party?" Levi asked suddenly, and they both turned to look at him. He looked up at them expectantly, holding the puppy awkwardly. It wagged its tail and whined very pitifully up at Tim and Kelly. "Can I come too?"

"Levi," murmured Kelly, starting to deny him.

"Sure, bud," Tim said automatically, and she looked at him in surprise. He met her eyes and shrugged good-naturedly.

"I'll just take you to Chuck. E. Cheese instead of Palena," he said.

Kelly smiled softly.

There were reasons she liked Timothy McGee.

* * *

Jethro hated cell phones.

His was ringing at the moment, repeatedly reminding him _why_ he hated it.

Few people actually had his cell phone number, meaning he answered it when it rang. He reached for it, grasping for it blindly on Jenny's cluttered bedside table, and picked it up, fumbling.

"Gibbs," he growled, hoping it sounded as menacing as he felt.

"Um, hello Mr. Gibbs—sir, this is Tim—Tim McGee."

Jethro blinked, pulled the phone away from his ear, glared at it, and replaced it.

"McGee?" he asked threateningly. This had better be good.

Jenny lifted her head from the kisses she was placing lazily down his chest, arching her eyebrow mildly when she heard the name. She gave a soft smile at the look on his face and resumed her languid kissing.

"Um, yes. I work with Kelly um—"

"I know who you are, McGee. Why are you calling me?"

"Well, I wanted to ask—well, to get your permission, if it was okay to—"

"Spit it out," barked Gibbs.

Jenny laughed quietly. She ran her hands soothingly up his sides, patronizing him. Poor McGee.

"I want to date Kelly," McGee said instantly.

If he had been in the room with him, Jethro would have rolled his eyes and smacked him.

"You want to take my daughter out?" he repeated slowly.

Jenny's eyebrows rose a little higher; she didn't look up this time.

"Yes sir," McGee sounded a little more confident.

"McGee," growled Jethro. "She's _twenty_-_three_."

As noble as Tim McGee was being at the moment, he was interrupting, and Jethro honestly believed the 'asking to date the daughter' rule had expired when she had a _child_.

"Uhh, I know," McGee began.

"Did you ask _her_?" Jethro asked.

Jenny stretched out over his legs and traced circles on his abdomen with her tongue.

"Yes—I wanted your blessing, so…"

"I am very happy for the both of you. God bless your little hearts," growled Jethro, and violently hung up the phone, chucking it against Jenny's wall.

"I am fond of that wall. If you have chipped it in your childish annoyance, you'll repair it," Jenny murmured, crawling over him and settling into his side.

Jenny was not normally a woman who wanted to cuddle up to him in bed, but he figured she wasn't feeling quite herself tonight; he didn't mention it. She put her head on his shoulder and her face in his neck, and pursed her lips.

"Tim," she sighed, only a little mockingly. "Such a gentlemen. How kind of him to seek your permission in courting Miss Kelly."

"You gonna let them carry on with this?" Jethro asked gruffly, suspicious about the whole deal.

She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Shhh, Jethro-_oooo_," she hissed. "I don't know about it yet."

He snorted. Jenny laughed and let out a slow breath, kissing his neck slowly.

"Those poor souls," she murmured sympathetically, "Sweet little Kelly and well-meaning McGee. I shall rain torrents of embarrassment and mockery down upon their little lovebird heads."

"Play nice, Jen," he said sternly.

She scraped her teeth on his neck lightly.

He shifted to his side and rolled over on top of her, pressing his lips to hers and sinking into another kiss. He wanted to tire her out (if that was possible; he wasn't actually sure if it was). She had nightmares frequently, and he thought she might have more tonight due to the day's events.

Jethro moved from her lips to her jaw, to her throat to her shoulders, and then to her breasts, marking a trail with his mouth slowly. She moaned softly and bunched her hands in the sheets. He quickly forgot about Tim McGee's unnecessary and annoying interruption, much more inclined to occupy his thoughts with Jen and making her forget what lingered in the back of her mind.

* * *

_It's McGee's turn to shine!  
-Alexandra_


	11. 10

_A/N: A Character note, my friends. No one has brought it up yet, but it could become an issue this chapter and to avoid remarks on it, I shall go ahead and address it: It may be apparent Gibbs is not his canon, NCIS stonewall hard-ass self, particularly in this chapter, but you must attribute that to the fact that he raised a daughter by himself and had to adjust to interacting with a female whose emotions were at times haywire. He's an old pro, and much less rigid than in the__ show due to circumstances. That being said, if you inform me that he's OoC, I will probably get snippy. _

_Massively important chapter. _

* * *

Kelly was perched on a stool at the kitchen counter pouring over a cold case file and Levi was on the floor absorbed in tug-of-war with the puppy that had unfortunately been named Pterodactyl; Leroy Jethro Gibbs was keeping one eye on Levi while he watched the seven o'clock news, a little on edge.

It was the anniversary of the terrorist attacks that wreaked havoc on the country six years ago, and aside from a brief mention of the Pentagon's memorial, not one news channel seemed to remember. As a marine, it irked him how fast Americans forgot.

It figured that when the doorbell rang, Levi ignored it and after a few moments, Kelly said:

"Daddy, can you get the door?"

He shot her a glare.

"You're closer," he grumbled, standing up and dragging his feet down the hall. Kelly smirked and shook her head fondly, drawing a bright yellow high lighter on something in her interesting file.

This time, there was a half-hearted knock on the door, and Pterodactyl started barking, tearing away from Levi and skidding into Jethro's feet in the hall, tail wagging eagerly. Jethro blocked the puppy with his foot so he wouldn't fly out the door and opened it.

Truth be told, he was not that surprised to see Jenny. She leaned against the doorframe, her shoulders slumped, her head pressing into the side of the house. Her hair was tangled and messy; her eyes dull as she looked up at him.

Pterodactyl whined and wriggled, trying to get to her and jump.

"You drunk?" Jethro asked quietly. He had half been expecting something like this. How could he blame her for it?

She gave him an emotionless smirk.

"Oh yeah," she answered hoarsely.

He jerked his head a little, indicating she should come in, and she straightened up, clearly trying not to stumble. She knocked over the umbrella stand anyway and winced, setting Pterodactyl off again. Jethro reached out and took her arm gently, starting to shut the door.

"Jesus, Daddy, I said get the door not wake the dead," Kelly said, her voice getting closer. "Who—"

"Jenn-eee!" Levi shouted, bounding into the hall.

The loud noise bothered her. Levi scampered to her and she moved away, shaking her head.

"Cool it, Levi," said Jethro sharply, and the boy paused, confused.

"Hey, what's your problem, Dad?" Kelly asked, annoyed at the tone he'd taken with her son. She entered the hall and watched Jethro push the door shut, taking in the scene. As perceptive as she was, she knew something was off.

Jenny stumbled away from Jethro and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and swallowing hard. Kelly's eyes narrowed.

"Levi, go back in the living room," she ordered, and he didn't argue with the voice he heard, frowning and trudging away, probably hurt. Kelly gave her father a hard look. "She's wasted," she growled quietly.

Jethro gave her a look for pointing out the obvious. He turned away from Kelly.

"Jen," he said quietly.

"Levi doesn't need to be around this," Kelly said shortly.

Jenny turned a cold glare on Kelly.

"Pardon me for allowing my imperfections to show in his presence," she hissed. She turned her head away and closed his eyes. "At least he's around at all," she snapped dully. She opened her eyes and looked at Jethro.

"Basement," he said, reaching out and taking her arm. She straightened up and looked at his hand, reaching over to rest her hand on his arm, steadying herself.

Jethro got her past Kelly, giving his daughter a warning look. Kelly didn't let it go. She was reacting negatively to seeing someone she admired messed up and it was understandable, but she didn't understand the reasons behind it.

"Did you _drive_ here, Jenny?" she asked.

"Kelly!" barked Jethro, his hand on the basement door as he turned to face her. She stopped, her expression a little defiant as she looked at him. "Keep Levi occupied," he ordered. He shut the basement door tightly and Kelly stared at it.

He _never_ shut the basement door.

* * *

The stairs were particularly treacherous for Jenny in her inebriated state. Jethro kept a firm hold on her arm, navigating the steps for her. She shook him off when they reached the concrete floor and walked purposefully over to the counter, reaching for empty mugs and the bottle of Jack.

He approached slowly, watching as she poured a drink and knocked it back. He put his hand on the mug and took it from her. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter, tangling her hands in her hair and gripping.

Jethro put a hand on her back. She was trembling just slightly all over, from the alcohol or the emotion, he didn't really know.

"How bad, Jen?" he asked seriously, not quite sure what he was asking. He meant how hard was it, how much did it hurt, but he wasn't sure she understood that.

"I can't stand it," she mumbled. "It's the only day of the year I let it break me."

She pulled her hands away from her hair and pushed away from the counter, walking away. She braced her hands against the boat and shook her head, reaching for the necklace at her throat clumsily and looking at it.

She jerked it violently so the clasp broke and she was holding it tightly in her hand.

"I can't get drunk enough to forget it! Dammit! I don't understand why they had to die—you tell me," she turned around, her eyes sharp and accusing. "You tell me what al-Qaeda _had_ against a five-year-old-little boy and a man—a man who only _ever_ tried to help others…"

She faltered, her mouth closing as she swallowed hard. She looked down at the charred and broken dog tag in her hand and squeezed it tightly, her knuckles turning white.

He leaned against the counter, watching her closely. He hesitated to comfort her. She was pale and when he'd touched her hand, she was cold. Her eyes burned and she fluttered them briefly, looking back up at him.

"This whole goddamn country has forgotten what we lost six years ago—they've _moved_ on, they've gotten over it and I _never_ _can_. I lost so much and it still hurts every damn day—I can never forget them, Jethro; my little Peter, his gorgeous blue eyes and Jim…"

She threw the necklace violently from her. It landed with a hollow echo on the concrete floor and Jethro watched the tears threaten her green eyes. She moved, her movements desperate and a little unsteady.

"Every year I hope if I can just get drunk enough, it'll be the death of me and the end of it and I won't wake up if I pass out from it all. It never works. I've come so close, I've stared into the barrel of my own Sig more times than you know and I can't _do_ it because," she leaned against the boat, staring at him through it vulnerably, raw, her voice hoarse. "Jim would never forgive suicide. It was the worst of sins to him. _Selfish_. What does he know? What does Jim fucking know, Jethro?"

She shouted the last at him, her hands slipping down the ribs of the boat. She tore her harsh eyes away from him and bowed her head. He could hear her crying. He had never seen her in tears before. Jethro moved away from the counter and advanced towards her.

"He doesn't have to live without his family. He didn't have to lose Peter like I did. I can't find peace—_Jethro_," she choked when he stopped next to her, reaching for her shoulders and resting his hand in her hair. "I want my family," she cried, stumbling towards him.

She pressed her cheek into his chest and he rested his hand on the back of her head, wrapping an arm around her waist gently.

"I miss them. I miss them so much."

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He heard the quick sound of the puppy charging across the floor.

"Yeah, Jen," he murmured, running his hand over her back. "I know."

She gripped his sides tightly, her quiet sobbing muffled in his shirt. As much as he hated to see her this upset, he was glad she had come to him instead of letting it consume her alone. He could empathize to an extent with the loss the felt when he thought of Shannon, and how hard it had been to have her taken from him.

He combed his fingers through her hair, slowly working out the knots she'd inflicted in it, vaguely wondering what he could say to soothe her. There was nothing, he decided, nothing that could heal the wound.

"The house is so quiet and empty," she mumbled thickly. "It's…I feel alone."

"You're not alone," he corrected, his lips moving against her temple, grazing her creased forehead.

She shook her head tiredly.

"No," she said softly. "No, I guess I'm not anymore. Not when I felt like I could crawl to you in this reprehensible state."

He moved his head a little stiffly in protest and she pressed her head against him; he felt her throat move as she swallowed almost angrily.

"Do not tell me its okay," she ordered hoarsely. "I have got to get a grip sometime."

She took a shaky breath and moved her head again, her eyes closing tightly. She leaned into him and he touched her hair again, offering security.

"I never thought I would miss the god _awful, _incessant racket Peter used to make," she murmured tremulously. "I was wrong."

She lapsed into soft crying again, her words failing her. Words rarely failed Jenny, and it was almost devastating when they did, for vocabulary and eloquence were her weaponry.

He knew she must miss them with every fiber of her being. He remembered how Kelly's subdued quiet the first few days he'd been back had bothered him; he'd been relieved when she tentatively asked to have a friend over and started laughing again.

Jethro put his hand against Jenny's cheek gently, feeling her cool skin and pushing her hair off her face. Her lashes and cheeks were damp with tears. He bet she didn't cry much, judging by the quantity of the broken damn now.

Jethro turned and pushed her back gently, placing his hands on her shoulders and sitting her down on the edge of the boat. She lifted her hand and placed it against the shell, compressing her lips.

He touched her cheek again, looking at the red rim around her green eyes and the hazy, alcohol-ridden sadness swimming there. She looked up at him slowly, her mouth shaking.

"Ah, Jenny," he murmured softly. She swallowed hard, taking a few shaky deep breaths. She looked ill as much as she looked drunk and devastated. "What is it you need, Jen?"

"Respite," she croaked quietly, her eyes falling half-way closed. "Help," she said, nodding her head as if affirming her statement.

It was, and she was sure he knew it, unprecedented for her to ask for help.

He stroked her cheek and reached with his other hand for her shoulder, helping her stand up again.

"Upstairs, come on," he coaxed. He mumbled: "I'll get you through this, Jen."

He felt her reluctance in letting him guide her again up the stairs, but he wasn't about to let her take a tumble on them, not when she'd managed to do that already in complete sobriety.

"I hate these stairs."

He smirked and shook his head, opening the basement door. She shook him off with a look as they walked out; she didn't want to be seen looking that weak if Kelly were to appear. Jethro nodded down the hall and Jenny turned.

He followed her on the familiar path to his bedroom. He winced in the living room at the look he received from Kelly, who had transferred her case file to the coffee table. Levi jumped up and peered at them over the couch.

"Hi Jenn-eee," he greeted softly, obviously subdued after he'd been snapped at earlier.

"Hello," she said quietly. "Levi."

"What did I tell you, son?" Kelly reprimanded shortly. Levi sank down onto the couch, twisting and folding his arms. Kelly gave her father a cold look, which Jethro ignored, letting his hand rest on Jenny's lower back.

"Jen, you want something to eat?" Jethro asked, shutting his bedroom door behind him. It was a start, he figured, on discerning what he should offer her. She shook her heavy head and put a hand to her forehead.

"No; I feel sick. Dizzy. I'll be a mess in the morning."

Jethro shrugged.

"Ibuprofen?" he offered helpfully. She closed her eyes briefly and he had his answer. "Medicine cabinet," he said gruffly, beckoning towards his ensuite bathroom. She stood in the doorway as he reached for the Advil, her mouth dry.

"I was twenty-two when I had Peter," she said. "Eleven months after I got married."

Jethro filled up a cup of water and handed it to her with two Advil, watching her.

"You were young," he remarked. Then again, he'd only been a few years older when he'd married Shannon. She nodded, looking impassively at the pills and then swallowing them dry, washing down with water afterwards.

"So many people thought I was stupid. I never once regretted it. A few," she paused, and smiled sadly. "A few told me it would never last. The irony is what gets me. It should have lasted. It isn't fair."

She suddenly covered her face with her hand and her shoulders shook again.

"I'm sorry," she muttered thickly, her hand shaking a little. He gently pulled it away from her face and shook his head wordlessly. He took her arms and pulled her towards him, kissing her forehead lightly.

"I can't even see them done justice, Jethro. You must have found some peace in seeing Mike Franks serve Shannon's murderer a life sentence, but I can't have that repose. How do you punish an entire group of radicals for the death of two," she stopped talking, her point made, and her breath exhausted for the moment.

He squeezed her shoulders, rubbing them. He didn't have a helpful answer to that. He'd fought the radicals she spoke of sixteen years ago in Desert Storm and they were still fighting them today, desperately trying to end a regime that existed for no other reason than to harm those different than them.

Maybe if they'd been allowed to end the tyranny in Iraq and Iran back then, September 11th never would have happened. Jenny would have her family. Yet he still wouldn't have Shannon, and he wouldn't have Jenny.

"They apprehended nine-eleven's masterminds," he said quietly.

"They gave them a cushy cell in Gitmo complete with the rights of the very upstanding Americans they killed. Men like Jim. They should have been slaughtered in the streets."

There was the anger she'd almost bitten back earlier. He was relieved to hear her express it. She ground out that harsh judgment in a cold, solemn tone; she meant every word. He had no reason to disagree with her assertion; if Agent Franks hadn't been able to bring justice to Shannon, Jethro would have murdered the man who killed her himself.

Jethro ran his hand through her hair and tilted her head back, touching her cheeks gently, running his thumb under her wet eyes.

"Damn, Jen," he murmured, looking at her intently. "You handle your liquor well."

Aside from the stumbling and the dizziness she claimed, she was coherent. The only thing that marred her speech was her tears. Her smirk was watery. He smiled crookedly and inclined his head towards the rarely used bathtub.

"I am really messed up Jethro," she muttered darkly.

"Nah," he negated shaking his head a little. "Run a bath. "

"I'll start to think. Analyze. I can't."

He shrugged, brushing his knuckles against her jaw.

"It might help to just feel it for once. 'Stead of fighting it," he said in a low voice.

Jenny bit her lip. She stared at him. He looked back sincerely, and after what seemed like a very long moment, she moved past him and sat on the edge of the bath tub, turning the faucet gently. She put her fingers under the water; he watched her while she gauged the temperature, her eyes glued to the steady stream. She reached down and pushed in the drain plug when the warmth was to her liking and stood.

He stepped forward as she reached for the buttons on her form-fit sleeveless button down. Without ulterior motive, he pushed her hands out of the way and undid them for her, removing the shirt and tossing it towards the sink.

His hand drifted to the professional slacks she wore and she reached to stop him, slipping her hand into her back pocket. She retrieved a folded, torn, and yellowed photograph, pressing it into his hand.

He looked down at the picture. The worn crease in it prompted it to fall open easily. A very young Jenny smiled up from the picture, her smile bright and genuine. The man next to her had a toddler on his lap and was reaching out to snatch Jenny, as if they were trying to beat the flash of a camera.

The little boy's eyes were a replica of Jenny's down to the light in them...except they were blue.

"I think you should take that from me," she informed him hoarsely, matter-of-factly. He glanced up at her. She removed her slacks herself and stepped out of them.

She stripped in front of him until her clothes were all in distress in the sink. He watched her like a hawk to make sure she didn't fall. Jenny immersed herself in water that steamed, that looked much too hot to his eyes and he watched her closer her eyes, breathing in deeply.

"I'll give you a few minutes, Jen," he said, bowing out. She turned her head towards him and looked at him thankfully. She didn't say a word as he retreated from the bathroom, trudging back into his bedroom and rubbing his head in a little frustration.

He looked up when he heard a throat cleared and gave Kelly a sharp look. She would have a fit if someone had entered her room when a tightly shut door was, as she herself had once told him, an indication to stay out.

"Out, Kelly," he growled, without even thinking. He regretted it a little when he saw the surprised look on her face, but she stood her ground.

"No, Daddy," she answered firmly. "I have a right to know what's going on. She was hostile at work today—and then she shows up here _completely_ trashed? You—"

Jethro reached her in a few quick strides and ushered her out with a glare, his hand firmly placed behind her shoulders. He shut his door forcefully; positive Jenny (with her sonic hearing) had heard what Kelly had said.

Kelly whirled to face him in the hall, right in his face.

"She drove here drunk," she hissed angrily. "She's a federal agent. She could have killed someone."

"Back off Kelly," Jethro growled, annoyed that it didn't seem like he was going to get a word in edgewise. He went past her, knowing she would follow in outrage, and stormed to the dining room table, where he gestured violently.

Levi was occupied in the living room still, Pterodactyl asleep next to him and the Star Wars saga playing loudly on the television.

"Sit," he ordered.

"I'm not eight years old anymore, Dad!" snarled Kelly, glaring at him from a chair.

"You are still my daughter and you are living in my house, Kelly Roseanne, sit your ass _down_," he ordered. It was good to know that the authority that he had held over her as a child still worked.

She dropped into a chair violently, folding her arms stiffly and glaring at him.

"What the hell is going on?"

Jethro jerked a chair out and gripped the back of it tightly, giving her a look.

"Kelly," he began in a low voice.

"Do not talk to me like I'm still a teenager!" she interrupted in frustration, her jaw tightening. "Much as I like Jenny, her godforsaken Queen-of-the-universe attitude has gone too far when she upsets _Levi_ without cause and I want to know what her fu—"

"Be quiet, Kelly," Jethro snapped, interrupting her before she could curse at him and effectively shutting her up. She still responded to his tone. "You have no idea what Jen's reasons are."

"Oh, her _reasons_. I understand your obvious bias, Dad, but I don't see what the hell can excuse such an irresponsibility of driving under the influence!"

"You are not one to judge others for irresponsibility," he said sharply.

Kelly gave him a hurt look, her mouth falling closed. Her hard look faltered. He regretted the dig immediately and sighed heavily as he sat down in the chair. He leaned forward onto the table.

"If you'd let me get a word in…" he muttered, frustration written on the lines of his face. "Listen, Kelly," he said slowly, letting the threat seep out of his tone. "There are a few things you don't understand."

He watched the look in her eyes soften after a moment and she relaxed her shoulders, tilting her head down a little in a less firm pose. It was not his place to tell Kelly about Jenny's past, but Kelly needed to understand this, and Jethro trusted Jenny to forgive him.

* * *

Jethro ended up putting Levi to bed, and a little early at that. Kelly was too upset to do it and it was just better for him to be asleep amidst all this.

He heard the water in his bathroom start running again as he finished up Levi's routine, standing by the light to flick it off. He bent down and kissed his grandson on the forehead, sighing.

"Lot of crying women in this house tonight, son," he muttered tiredly, sharing a worrisome look with the only other male in his home. Levi looked subdued. He seemed to have gotten that look down pat tonight.

"Uh-oh," he said. Jethro nodded in agreement and turned off the light, leaving the room with a small smile of reassurance to Levi.

Hell, there hadn't been this many tears since Shannon and Kelly had watched _Fox and the Hound._

He had known Kelly would be upset but he had not really expected her to burst into tears before he could finish and continue to cry. It occurred to him now that he should have expected that; he had been thinking of Kelly as a little girl still and not as a mother. Of course she would react as she did, she could imagine how devastated she would be if she lost Levi.

It was stressing him out. He didn't handle crying women well; he typically reacted the wrong way or said something stupid. He had learned to just stay quiet for the most part. There was a small difference with Jenny though…he could connect with her in a way he didn't with other women. It was just something that was _there_.

He locked his bedroom door behind him when he entered it and wandered into the bathroom.

Jenny had the water running, but the water was slowly sinking lower in the bath. She let the waterfall stream over her shoulders as the bathwater drained, keeping her warm even if it seemed ridiculous.

She looked towards him, her hair darkened to a wine colour and matted against her shoulders in thick curly tangles. The room smelled like soap and hot water; the mirror was smoky and the air was stuffy.

"How can you breathe in here?" he asked under his breath.

"Oh, Jethro, thinking of you stops my breath more than the hot air," she murmured cheekily, but it was a much weaker tease than was her usual penchant. He smiled anyway. He did like it when she teased him.

"You want some clean clothes to put on?" he asked.

Jenny shook her head, looking away. She stood up carefully and he stepped forward, afraid she was going to stumble and fall. She winced as if the straightening movement hurt her head but kept steady.

He picked up the towel he'd gotten out for her and handed it to her as she stepped out, water dripping down her shoulders from her hair in buckets. She wrapped the towel around her, pressing her lips together and shivering at the temperature change.

Jethro gave her a searching look, wondering if the bath had done any good. She shifted and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not thinking straight," she said. Then, softly: "I drank a lot."

He nodded, reaching behind him to brace his hands on the sink. He made sure his stance was relaxed enough to show her she could relax herself.

"I'm here if you need me, Jen."

He watched her swallow, look away, and then walk towards him, reaching for his shoulders before she got close enough, letting go enough of the towel enough to let it fall explicitly low.

He put his hands on her waist reactively, and it didn't matter to him that she was wet and she got him wet when she leaned into him and kissed him deeply, her towel a thin separation between them.

She slowly took his shirt off, dropping it to the floor.

"I think I need," she started shakily, "someone."

It was okay that she couldn't specifically admit she needed him. She clearly wanted him. She was drunk and hurting, and he might have hesitated to take her to bed, but she was coming on strong and he didn't have that much self control.

It wasn't necessarily a negative thing, making love like this, because she fell asleep tangled in the sheets close to him after wards, and she slept without any nightmares.

* * *

Jethro was woken by a whisper, and he rolled over in bed towards it, discerning in seconds that the voice was definitely not Jenny's.

"Daddy," Kelly whispered again, and he ran a hand over his eyes, squinting at her. She nodded her head towards the door insistently, and when he blinked to clear sleep from his eyes, he noticed she was clad in work attire.

He nodded and motioned for her to get out and give him a minute to get dressed. She crept away silently and he turned towards Jenny, hoping she hadn't been woken up. She was still safely asleep, one of her arms resting above her head.

Jethro carefully got out of bed and transferred all of the covers to her, quietly fumbling for boxers, jeans, and a shirt to throw on before he dealt with whatever Kelly wanted. She very rarely wandered into his room.

He wasn't sure he was comfortable with her coming in while he was in bed with Jenny, even if they weren't doing anything offensive.

He glanced at Jenny again before he slipped out, shutting the door soundlessly and making his way down the hall. The first person he saw was Levi perched at the counter on a stool, munching on his daily pop-tart.

Levi immediately put a finger to his lips with wide-eyes and shushed Jethro.

"Quiet game," he whispered, nodding.

Jethro smiled and nodded, placing his own finger over his lips. Kelly peeked through the bar at Jethro and nodded her head into the kitchen, wringing out a wet towel over the sink. She seemed to have just finished washing dishes.

She set the towel down and turned to Jethro.

"I called in sick for Jenny," she said. "Don't worry about waking her up."

"She won't like that at all," Jethro remarked, but in truth he was glad. She needed a day to recuperate. She was going to face one hell of a hangover when she got up.

Kelly shrugged.

"I don't care. I spoke to Director Morrow; it seems he knew about Jenny's family. He made the comment that it was 'about time she took a day'. You know Jenny has four months of unused vacation time?"

Kelly shook her head in disbelief. She glanced over her shoulder.

"Drink all of that milk, Levi, or I won't let you have a snack after school today," she said gently, and Levi nodded, still occupied with winning the Quiet Game. "How long have you known, Dad?" Kelly asked, turning back to him.

"Since you told her about your mom," Jethro answered slowly, starting to gather some things together for coffee. He might as well start a brew if he was up. He wouldn't be able to simply fall back to sleep anyway.

"I can't even _imagine_, Daddy," she said softly, watching him pour ground coffee beans into a filter.

"I can't either, Kelly."

"If I lost Levi…"

"I know," he said, pushing the thought away. He didn't even want to think about that for Kelly, and he very much didn't want her thinking about it.

"I won't get lost, Mommy," Levi piped up.

"Yeah? Good, honey. Finished yet?" she asked distractedly.

"Yeah, I drank all my milk."

"Okay. Teeth brushed, get your shoes on, and off to school we go," Kelly said, and Jethro looked up to watch Levi hop down from the stool and scamper quietly off to the bathroom. Kelly turned and took his dirty dishes, placing them in the sink and turning the water on. She grabbed the soap.

"You clean when you're stressed," he pointed out. It had scared the hell out of him to find the garage completely organized and swept when she was fifteen and had been worrying about a Chemistry test.

"I'm not stressed," she muttered. "What do I say to her?" she asked exasperatedly, scrubbing Levi's dishes. She was stressed, whether she admitted it or not.

"Don't treat Jen any differently, Kelly, for Christ's sake," he answered; watching her closely as she finally decided the dishes were clean and placed them in the drainer.

"That's not what I meant. I guess I meant…I wish there was something I could do or say to make her feel better. Like give her Levi," Kelly smirked a little and Jethro smiled at the feeble joke.

He started the coffee maker and gave Kelly a serious look.

"You can't," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "And before you try, think about how it would feel to you if someone tried to say 'it will be okay'."

"I wouldn't say something stupid like that," Kelly scoffed.

"No," Jethro agreed, "but look at where you're coming from, honey. Your son is alive and well. She'd only see that."

Kelly fell silent. She nodded, drying her hands off again.

"It's not fair."

"Neither was losing your mom," Jethro pointed out quietly. "We managed."

Kelly snorted, pushing off the counter and patting her father on top of the head patronizingly.

"I know you like to think we managed, Dad," she said, as if breaking very hard news to him, "but in actuality, I managed and you sort of fell apart."

He scowled at her. He didn't remember it a lot, but he'd kind of been at a loss with the single parenting for a while, so Kelly was more than likely right. He liked to think he took perfectly good care of her though.

They both turned as they heard Levi running towards them, his tennis shoes thumping on the carpet and then slowing as he entered the kitchen, slinging his backpack onto his shoulders. Pterodactyl came bounding after him, nipping at his heels. He smiled at Kelly, giving her a thumb up.

"Can we go now, Mommy? Miss Amelia is going to teach us how to play a memory game today!" he informed her excitedly, referring to his new kindergarten teacher. Pterodactyl barked and Jethro glared, shushing the dog instantly.

Kelly smiled and nodded towards the door.

"Yep, right behind ya, kiddo," she said, reaching for her purse. Jethro followed her when she started after her son towards the front door. Levi opened it and charged out, skidding to a stop by Kelly's door and pouting when he yanked on it and it didn't budge.

"Unlock it Mom!" he insisted.

Jethro put a hand on Kelly's shoulder and pulled her into a hug before she left.

"I love you, Kel," he said.

Kelly gave him a quick hug back and kissed him on the cheek, wrinkling her nose as her cheeks flushed slightly. You'd think he'd hugged her in front of her high school football team. She looked at him curiously.

"Why don't you tell Jenny that?" she asked innocently.

Jethro began to push her out the door.

"'Bye, _sweetheart_," he growled.

"I love you too, Daddy," she laughed, swatting him away from her and pulling the door shut. Jethro leaned against it for a minute, hitting his head softly against the wood, and then turned and shuffled back into the kitchen, listening to the coffee brew.

He went down to the basement after a few minutes and searched for the necklace Jenny had thrown across the room so violently last night. He picked it up and slipped it into his pocket, knowing she might want it later.

Pterodactyl looked at him with interest from the top of the stairs, wagging his tail before scampering off to explore something else.

Jethro started back towards the stairs, pausing halfway up them when he heard heavy footsteps towards the other side of the ceiling. Jenny must be up. He figured the urgent footsteps meant she was bearing the brunt of her alcoholic indulgence last night, and made his way slowly to his bedroom.

He knew Jenny well enough to know she wouldn't want him to watch her get sick. He walked into the bathroom to find her leaning over the sink, holding her hair back from her neck. He reached over and turned on the faucet, pulling a plastic cup out of the cabinet.

She took it, took a drink of water, closed her eyes, and moaned. Her forehead crinkled.

"Coffee," he said seriously. Her shoulders slumped and she nodded, filling the cup with water again.

"Mouthwash?" she asked.

He pointed to the cabinet and she fumbled with it while he left her to herself, returning to the kitchen to ready her a cup of steaming coffee. He performed the added gesture of retrieving a painkiller from Kelly's medicine cabinet and setting it on a napkin next to Jenny's coffee cup, which he placed on the dining room table.

He didn't trust her not to fall right off a barstool.

Pterodactyl attacked his food in the kitchen, growling at it and then growling at Jethro.

She trudged in about five minutes later, apparently having taken the liberty of scavenging through his drawers. She wore an old _Camp_ _Pendleton_ t-shirt and a rolled up pair of his boxers.

He found it inexplicably attractive.

She crouched down and pet Pterodactyl before she got to the table, hugging him, her face buried in his neck for a moment of pure comfort.

"What is this?" she asked hoarsely, sitting down and picking up the painkiller.

"What they prescribed Kelly after she was shot," he answered, picking up his mug and moseying over to the table.

Pterodactyl whined, wagged his tail, and lay down at her feet.

"Hardcore," she murmured, taking it with a swallow of coffee. She compressed her lips and closed her eyes, wincing in the light and slumping in her chair, elbows on the table, her hands cradling her mug.

Jethro sat down in the nearest chair, leaning back and watching her, his coffee cup resting on the table. She closed her eyes.

She'd tied her hair up in a very messy bun to keep it away from her face, and he could gauge how hung over she felt by the paleness of her skin and the dark circles that rimmed her eyes.

Jethro reached into his pocket and took out the thin chain he'd retrieved from the basement floor, placing it wordlessly next to her coffee cup. Jenny reached over and touched the dog tag, placing her hand over it protectively.

She took a slow drink of coffee while she was looking at it, her lips moving silently as if in prayer.

Jethro reached out and rubbed her shoulder.

"Jim was a good man," she said quietly. "He was a good father."

Jethro squeezed her shoulder, letting his hand drift over her back as well. She looked into her coffee cup and wound the chain of the necklace around her fingers absently, no doubt comforted by the familiarity of it.

She lifted the mug to her lips hesitantly, the dog tag clinking against it softly, and took a drink, her lips lingering on the rim.

"You can talk about him, Jen," Jethro said gently. "If you want to."

She slowly lowered the mug; it hovered over the table.

"I don't know," she whispered hoarsely. "It feels like…letting go. It's hard."

"I know," he said sincerely. At least she was someone who could put into words how he felt about Shannon. Her statement defined why he had never voluntarily spoken of Shannon. He had wanted to keep her to himself.

He wanted Jenny to feel like it was okay to remember her family though. He wondered if she thought he would be jealous or something stupid like that. He had never been concerned with that when it came to dating, but women were different than men.

"Jim is…was," she swallowed hard, "Jim was why I joined NCIS. He was only going to spend three more years in the military. He loved the Navy, but he was away a lot, and he missed Peter. NCIS offered permanence. When he died," she reached up and pressed the chain of her necklace against her wrinkled forehead. "When _they_ died. I turned to NCIS. Tom Morrow had known my father, and Jim. He convinced me to join."

She reached back down and rested her hand on the table, flattening it again.

"It was my saving grace," she said, shrugging.

Jethro leaned forward onto his knees, his coffee abandoned, and placed on hand on her thigh comfortingly, content to listen. She looked towards him sideways and gave a smile; it didn't quite reach her eyes but it was genuine.

"He was the first man I ever loved," she admitted quietly. Nostalgically. "He was deployed in Germany my entire senior year of high school, and people thought 'good, she'll get over him'," she smiled again, rubbing her thumb against the handle on her mug. "I told him people said that when he got back. He just asked if I wanted to marry him."

Jethro smiled and she laughed the quiet, sad laugh of remembered happiness. Her voice broke slightly at the end. Jenny blinked and glanced at the ceiling, and then back at her coffee cup. She took another drink and stared at the dark liquid thoughtfully.

"Jim would have liked you," she murmured, slowly chancing a look towards him. Jethro smirked a little.

"He like redheads and boats, too?" he teased gruffly, fully aware of the stories Kelly told about him. Jenny smiled at the joke and ran her finger around the rim of her coffee mug, her eyes flickering.

"No; Jim liked cars and blondes," she corrected, making a face.

"Hmmm," Jethro mumbled, arching an eyebrow and reaching up to touch a strand of her hair, curling it around his finger reverently. She tilted her head towards him and sipped the coffee again.

"And green eyes," she added softly, looking off in front of her.

That must be why he'd been attracted to Jenny right off the bat. Her emerald eyes were more than arresting. They were enchanting, beautiful. Jethro stood slowly and exited the room, returning to his and opening the closet. He knew she didn't expect him to do this, but he felt like she deserved some insight to his life.

She'd offered him that when he hadn't. She had confided her loss when he'd kept his from her. The least he could do was show her he trusted her, and he felt that connection with her. He picked up the cardboard box he kept in the closet and secured it under his arm, making his way back to the dining room and sitting next to Jenny.

He put the box on the table and wordlessly, sifted through the unorganized contents, picking out a few of his favorite photos. He looked at them for a minute before he placed them on the table, still not speaking.

Jenny looked at him and then drew her hands away from her coffee cup and Jim's dog tag and touched the first one, picking it up thoughtfully.

It was a picture he'd taken of Shannon and Kelly just before he'd deployed for Desert Storm. They were standing in the backyard touching their noses together, both of them wearing dresses and headbands.

He saw Jenny smile a little and look at the next one, a picture that Kelly had taken, slightly blurry from her amateur photography. They had been at the beach, and he had his arms around Shannon, unaware Kelly was anywhere near.

"God, Kelly looks just like her," Jenny murmured, touching the picture of him and Shannon.

"Yeah," Jethro said dryly. This time he was the one reaching for coffee. The next one was hard to look at.

Shannon, smiling up at him from the soft rug in front of their fireplace, a very small, very sleepy Kelly cuddled in her arms. It hadn't been long after Kelly was born. This particular picture really captured the softness in her eyes and her prettiness.

"I remember Peter when he was that little," Jenny said. "I barely knew what to do with him," she murmured, laying the picture down. She rested one hand safely on Jim's dog tag and reached confidently for the box, peering into it with a cautionary glance towards Jethro.

He met her eyes in a way that said he didn't mind.

Her hand drifted over the jumble of items, and she carefully picked up the engagement ring that had lain on top of a few old and weathered letters. He watched her look at it and ventured a question.

"Was your married name Shepard, Jen?" he asked, unsure if it had been or not.

She shook her head, touching the diamond in Shannon's old ring with a soft smile that faded slowly. She reached for his hand and placed the ring in it.

"Laurent," she answered in a murmured. "I use my maiden name."

He touched Shannon's ring briefly for a moment, looking at the small scratches on it and the tarnish, both things that had resulted from the car accident that killed her. He placed it on the table and touched Jenny's hand, his fingers slipping into hers.

She pressed her fingertips into his palm, her eyes on his hand. He looked at her and she gave him a sarcastic smirk.

"We're a sorry pair, you know that, Cowboy?" she asked.

He laughed. It shocked him that they could find humor in this. She snorted as well, and winced at the noise they made, taking a slow drink of coffee with her free hand to ease the throbbing in her head.

"Honest to God," Jenny muttered, shaking her head gingerly. "And they say Greek Tragedies are far-fetched occurrences."

Jethro moved his chair closer to her and pushed tangled hair away from her face, pressing his knuckles into her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her, a soft, chaste kiss that made her turn to him.

She drew one of her knees into the chair and laid her head on his shoulder, her coffee mug balanced on the knee.

"I should be at work," she murmured after a moment. He shook his head, busy savoring the scent of her hair.

"You work yourself to death," he growled.

She gave a small shrug; that was all. She wouldn't deny it because it was true. Her work was what kept her going when she didn't have anything else. She had something now, she though, in Jethro. It felt that way.

It was a hard feeling. A scary feeling. It was why she'd been reluctant to stay when she'd first told him about Jim and Peter; she had never let anyone that close, and she recognized the way she'd started to feel about Jethro and felt guilty when she thought of Jim.

But the same hard, scary feeling had led her back to his basement last night.

"I have no idea what I will do here all day, Jethro," she said dejectedly, as if it was a daunting prospect.

"Sleep off the hangover," he ran his hand through her hair. "Work on the boat."

She made a small noise of amusement and sighed, her fingernail tapping against the ceramic mug. Jethro pressed his lips to her temple, lingering against her cool skin. He knew she had her qualms about staying. It symbolized a big step. He wanted to take it.

Jenny closed her eyes lightly at the touch of his lips. She knew he wouldn't press her to talk or hassle her. She wanted to be at work. She wanted to be at home. She wanted to stay right here with Jethro.

She moved, shifting and putting her cup down. She sat forward in the chair and drifted away from him, running a hand through her thick, crimson curls. He noticed there were tears in her eyes again. She blinked.

He stood up and put his hands on her shoulders from behind her chair, massaging, his fingers brushing against her neck. She relaxed a little and leaned back, her head falling into his chest. Her slim shoulders shook faintly.

"I want you to stay, Jenny," he muttered. "That what you want to hear?"

She bit her lip, and it looked like she was keeping her mouth steady and suppressing a smile at the same time.

"I like to hear your voice, Jethro," was all she said in a quiet, hoarse surrender.

* * *

Special Agent Kate Todd frowned as she entered the bullpen. The first thing she saw was Tony DiNozzo, her sort-of nemesis, sitting at Jenny Shepard's desk.

"It's rhyme time, Agent Todd!" He greeted, looking at her with a smirk. "Kate's late," he quipped.

"Ignore him, he thinks he's Shepard because she's not here to be herself," McGee muttered before Kate could properly respond.

"McFunSucker! Shut your pie hole!" Tony said, glaring at the younger agent. McGee stuck his tongue out.

"She's not here?" Kate asked. "_Jenny_ is not _here_?!" she repeated, collapsing into her chair in disbelief.

"You didn't deduce that from the lack of authority and predominate chaos you witnessed when you walked in?" Kelly piped up quietly, peeking at them from behind a file she was flicking through. She had it rested on her knees; her legs were propped on the desk.

Kate tilted her head, pursing her lips.

"Hmmm. Good point, Kelly," she said. Kelly smirked.

"I have authority," whined Tony grumpily, glaring at them.

"Do not," Abby chimed in, skipping into the bullpen. She tapped Tony gently on the back of the head Jenny-style and then patted his head, nudging him with a wide smile. "But it's cute how you think you do."

Tony narrowed his eyes. McGee snickered.

"Quit chuckling, McChuckles!"

"Come up with a more original way of mocking Tim than sticking 'Mc' in front of random words," Kelly fired back effortlessly.

Kate laughed.

"Don't stick up for your boyfriend, Mrs. Probie." Tony said with a leer.

Kelly rolled her eyes. McGee blushed.

"Awwww," squealed Abby.

"So…where exactly is Jenny?" Kate asked curiously.

It wasn't often their boss was absent—no, scratch that. Jenny had not been absent from work once since Kate started, and Kate had been at NCIS from the Secret Service for three years now.

She looked at Tony.

He looked at her blankly.

"I do not know the whereabouts of our intrepid and fearless leader," he retorted.

"Uh, she told us not to call her that, Tony," McGee pointed out.

"Well, she is not here Mc…McGee," Tony said, faltering as he remembered Kelly's jibe about his nicknames.

"She still probably heard you," Kate remarked. Tony glanced around furtively. Kate could be right. Tony steepled his fingers under his chin and slowly pointed them at Kelly like a gun.

"Ask that one where Red is," he said wickedly.

Kelly marked out something in the file she was going over.

"Preventing the Clones from slaughtering the Padawans of the Jedi Temple," she answered promptly.

Tony stared at her.

"That's why you like her, isn't it, McGoo?" he asked.

"I thought she was mediating a peace treaty between the Autobots and the Decepticons," Abby noted, ignoring Tony and flashing a grin at Kelly.

"Nope. That was last Saturday."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kate asked. Tony gave Kate a nod of agreement at her outburst.

"Oh, come on, Kate, when does Jenny miss work?" Abby asked, with a good-natured shrug. "It has to be something epic."

"She could be sick," McGee said.

"You bore me, Tim," Abby retorted, waving a hand at him.

"_Do_ you know where she is, Kelly?" Kate asked with interest.

"Please don't tell me you just gave credit to DiNozzo," Kelly responded, glancing up at Kate through her eyelashes. They all knew believing something because Tony had said it was a bad idea.

Kate frowned.

"Ew," she stated.

Kelly looked closer at the Cold Case file she was holding, chewing her lip absently. She was distracted by what was going on at home and thus grateful that they didn't have a case. She'd come across this old one after a day of organizing paper files (something Jenny had made her do as penance at one point).

She kept coming back to it.

There had been a murder-kidnapping of a child recently that bothered her. This case was why. She thought…suddenly, she noticed it. She'd been trying to figure out what had bothered her for days, what the connection was.

She swung her legs off the desk and stood up.

"I'm going to see Ducky," she announced, closing the file. She swept her cup of coffee off the desk and headed towards the elevator.

Her colleagues were too busy playing word games with each other to question her. As the elevator doors were sliding closed, though, Tony slipped in and waltzed to the back of the elevator, leaning against the wall.

Kelly smirked and rolled her eyes.

She glanced at him over her shoulder and lifted an eyebrow. He lunged forward and flicked the emergency stop switch, turning towards her in the dimly lit space.

"You really are channeling Jenny," she remarked a little condescendingly, taking a sip of her rapidly cooling coffee.

He snorted, and narrowed his eyes at her, stepping closer. He seemed to be trying to suck information out of her eyes. Kelly looked at him impassively.

"Red _is_ with your Dad, isn't she?" he asked quietly.

"You live up to your name, DiNozy, you know that?" Kelly responded. "You do not have to know everything."

"Kelly," he growled. "I'm not being nosy. I want to know if Jenny's okay. She doesn't miss work. And if she was going to, the day would have been yesterday. Not today."

He had expected to see confusion or misunderstanding in Kelly's eyes. She just pressed her lips together and looked at him intently, her guarded look dropping a little.

"You knew, Tony?" she asked softly. "About Jenny's family?"

He shrugged, his brow furrowing.

"Of course I knew. I know Jenny. Better than any of you think. I found out on a case. Found a body in Arlington cemetery, a few plots over from Jim and Peter's headstones. She disappeared and I found her sitting in front of them. She spilled. She gets drunk on September 11th, every year. She wasn't home last night. Sue me if I want to make sure she's not dead in a ditch somewhere."

Kelly looked at him quietly, nodding her head. She wondered if anyone else on the team knew, but she couldn't ask. She assumed it was in Jenny's file, but she had never looked in Jenny's file, so perhaps they hadn't either.

"I called in for her this morning," Kelly relented mildly. "She came over last night, drunk. She wanted Dad, I think."

Tony snorted, nodding curtly. He flicked the elevator back on. Kelly took a drink of her coffee again and Tony reached over and tapped the file she was holding obnoxiously.

"Why are we going to see Ducky?"

Kelly smiled primly.

"I have a gut feeling," she said.

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Oh," he said sarcastically, aware as she was it was Jenny's signature catch phrase. "The boss's stepdaughter has a _gut_ _feeling_."

Kelly laughed at the tease and elbowed him in the ribs.

* * *

Jethro found the signs of Jenny's drunken lamenting on the floor of her bedroom when he entered. An empty bottle of bourbon, a crystal tumbler from her study, and a few pictures of Jim and Peter.

He cleaned up a little and placed the pictures on her bedside table neatly, unsure of where she kept them. He dropped the black duffle bag he'd brought from home on her bed and opened her spacious closet, searching for a few of her favorite items.

It had been a quiet day. He suspected she found working on the boat more therapeutic than her skepticism had at first allowed. The comfortable silence had been punctured occasionally by questions from one of them to the other, or comments.

Jen was hard to read. He knew he was too, but he'd lived with a little girl and then a woman for a long time, so he had more of a feel for what she might want. Jen had spent the last six years completely shutting people out.

He zipped the bag, filling it with enough to last her a day or so and not too much; he didn't want her to feel like he was holding her captive. She was asleep, or had been when he left. They had ended up back in bed again.

It occurred to him as he threw the duffle bag in the front seat of his car and got in himself, revving the engine, that he should probably stop disappearing while she slept. But he knew she was just shy of sleeping off the hell of a hangover she'd been struggling with, and hadn't wanted to wake her.

He drove home uncharacteristically slowly. It was nearing seven o'clock and Kelly should be home soon. Levi hadn't gotten off the bus, so he assumed Kelly had decided to pick him up and take him back to work with her so Jethro and Jenny wouldn't be left taking care of him.

Kelly's car was in the drive way when he got home and he parked behind it, looking in the lit up windows for a minute before taking the bag and going into the house. He could hear Levi's faint laughter and smiled as he shut the door.

He walked down the hall, noticing Kelly's auburn hair as he entered the place just outside the kitchen. Pterodactyl was sitting in the kitchen, resolutely staring at a pot of food Kelly had going as if he had a chance. Jethro smirked. He wandered around to the dining room table, peering around the corner at her. She was sitting in the very chair Jenny had sat in this morning, looking at the memorabilia Jethro had dug out of the closet.

He approached quietly and dropped the black bag down in the nearest chair and she jumped slightly, glancing up at him from the yellowed piece of paper she was holding. Her eyes were a little wet, but he could tell she had not been crying.

She held up the letter she'd been reading.

"You were really romantic, Dad," she said softly, smiling at him. He muttered under his breath, annoyed she'd decided to just start reading all the letters he and Shannon had shared. "You guys really loved each other."

Wait. _All_ of the letters?

"Kelly," asked Jethro hesitantly. "Did you read _all_ of those?"

"Oh, you mean _this_ one," she murmured, tapping her finger on one and lifting her eyebrow. "Sweet, though it could have been titled 'Dear _Penthouse'_ instead of 'Dear Jethro'," she remarked slyly.

"Don't talk about your mother like that," he reprimanded under his breath, picking the letter up protectively and putting it in the box. That one _definitely_ had never been for Kelly's eyes.

She smiled and set down the one she was holding.

"Consider how awkward I feel looking at you after reading what Mom had to say about your—"

She noticed the horrified, warning look on Jethro's face and put on a very sweet look.

"Eyes," she finished innocently. She picked up a crumpled piece of white printer paper and smiled at him. "I can't believe you kept this."

He shrugged, rubbing his chin absently. It was a drawing Kelly had made that Shannon sent along with her letters. It was a Valentine's Day picture.

"Of course I kept it," he said, rolling his eyes. "All the other guys were jealous."

Kelly laughed, looking down at all the things in front of her. Jethro watched her look, coming forward a little and sifting through some of the things. There were pictures, letters, a marriage certificate, Shannon's wedding garter. Other things as well.

He picked up a sapphire necklace he'd bought Shannon before his deployment to Panama when Kelly was six. He looked up at Kelly thoughtfully.

"You should have this, Kelly," he said suddenly, meaning it.

She widened her eyes.

"Dad—"

But he moved around the table, dangling it around her neck and fumbling with the fastener before she could really register what he'd said. He let it fall against her neck and put his hand on her hair briefly, pleased about it.

"I used to think you forgot about Mom," she murmured after a minute, turning to look at him. "Because you never talked about her. You never forgot. You just hated to remember," she said.

He squeezed her shoulder.

"Jenny's good for you," Kelly said, nodding as if she was convinced herself. He smirked.

"Where is Jen?" he asked.

Kelly frowned a little, glancing around.

"I think she was in bed when I came in; I didn't see her. Levi went to the basement…I think," she paused, her eyes narrowing.

"Why is it so quiet?" she asked.

Jethro stiffened, taking his hand off of her shoulder. He grabbed the bag he had for Jenny and started down the hall. Kelly watched him and then got up, going into the kitchen with a worried look on her face.

He was headed for his room, already noticing the door was open, when Levi called his name in a very hushed whisper.

"Gunny!"

He was crouching in the doorway of his room, beckoning to Jethro. Looking around briefly, Jethro crouched down, raising his eyebrows.

"What?" he whispered back.

"Shhhh," insisted Levi, covering Jethro's mouth.

"Why?" asked Jethro loudly into Levi's hand, earning himself a mean glare from his grandson.

Levi gasped. Hands grabbed Jethro's shoulders and wrapped around his neck from behind gently. Jethro recognized the soft skin immediately. He widened his eyes at Levi and Levi jumped back, pointing his hand at Jethro.

"Jenny got you!" he cried.

"Ahhhhh!" Jethro said monotonously, sort of playing along. He turned his head towards Jenny slightly and felt her smirk.

"It is common courtesy not to leave your lover naked in a bed where five-year-olds can find her," she whispered, releasing him and letting him slowly stand up. He looked at her, wincing a little.

He gave her a slightly apologetic look. She was back in the clothes she'd borrowed from him this morning. Her eyes were brighter. She looked much better.

"You got Gunny!" Levi informed Jenny proudly. "No one ever gets Gunny 'cuz he's a marine and we can't hear him!"

Jenny gave him a mysterious look.

"I told you, I have special powers," she stage whispered.

He beamed.

"Can you help me with my homework now, Jenny?" he asked, reaching up and grabbing her wrist.

"You have homework?" Jethro asked indignantly. "In kindergarten?! KELLY! What kind of school are you subjecting this child to?" He yelled. He turned to Levi and whispered: "I'll get you outta there, kid, promise."

"Stop negatively influencing him and chill, Dad," Kelly said, coming into the hall with a cooking utensil and rolling her eyes. She pointed the spoon at Levi. "I told you to do that homework before you did anything else. And what did you do? You disobeyed."

Levi glared at her.

"Jenny made me."

Jenny opened her mouth in mock outrage. Jethro looked at her and snickered.

"Levi Michael," Kelly shook her head, smiling a little. "You get that from him," she said, jabbing the spoon towards Jethro. "Go; do that homework. Then you have all the time you want before bedtime to play."

Levi rolled his eyes and dragged his feet dramatically into his bedroom.

Jethro pointed.

"Well that is all you," he retorted pettily. "What does he 'get from me', _Kelly_?" He asked.

"Uh, the blaming other people," Kelly replied, rolling her eyes just like Levi had. "I was five, you let me play in Mom's make-up, and when she flipped her lid, what did you say? 'It was Kelly'," she folded her arms triumphantly.

"You have no idea how I was punished for that," Jethro grumbled darkly. Kelly smirked loftily, probably in possession of a whole new arsenal of _ideas_ since she'd read that one letter.

"Thanks for entertaining him, Jenny," she said, glancing at her son's bedroom. "I hope he didn't drive you crazy making you play. Because he cheats," she informed.

Jenny smirked.

"Not a chance," she said slyly. "I was delighted to find I still possess the cheating-child-detector inherent in all mothers."

Kelly smiled, but Jethro saw she was taken off guard by the blunt reference Jenny had made to her son.

"I'm sure that particular trait was only enhanced by your responsibilities regarding a certain Tony DiNozzo," Kelly returned. Jenny smirked and nodded approvingly at the comment.

Something started beeping in the kitchen and Kelly turned, glancing back down the hall.

"That would be the sauce," she announced, swiveling around. "Nice of you to brave my cooking, Jenny!" she called over her shoulder absently.

"Oh, I am staying for dinner?" she asked Jethro mildly, lifting a near perfect brow.

He reached and then held up the bag by two fingers, staring at her as if daring her to challenge him.

"I forget to mention I was holding you hostage?" he asked gruffly, holding the bag out to her.

She gave him a look as she took it, inclining her head thankfully and then unzipping it a little to peek. She pressed her lips together in some small amusement and glanced up at him. She plunged two fingers into the bag and, drawing one out slowly, showed him the emerald green lace of the panties he'd chosen.

"I sense a salacious ulterior motive behind your chivalrous gesture of retrieving me an overnight bag, darling," she said softly, her eyes glinting.

He glanced at Levi's door with a small smirk and took her by the arm gently, leading her to his room. He shut the door behind him and she turned to him, her lips pursed.

"What fun you must have had navigating the lingerie drawer."

He shrugged and put his hand on her neck, stroking her skin softly with his thumb. She tilted her head, cutting her eyes at him through her thick lashes, and he pressed his mouth against hers. The kiss was intimate and languidly pushed the envelope towards explicit as Jenny placed her hand low on his back.

And then there was something about Kelly and Levi both being in the house, awake, and footsteps away, which made him want her then and there.

Jenny drew back briefly and kissed him slowly again, her forehead pressing lightly into his. She reached up and hooked her fingers into his collar and tugged him towards the ensuite bathroom, putting a finger over her lips with a smirk.

He shut the bathroom door and pushed her back against it, kissing her again. He hitched her up around his waist and changed his mind in favor of the sink, dragging his boxers off of her gently, panties and all.

She wrapped her long legs around his waist and deftly unfastened his jeans, hooking her toe in the waistband and sliding them down. He pulled her close by the back of the neck and slipped into her, his mouth covering hers again to swallow her moan.

It was hard and fast on the counter, with his hand over her mouth, a thumb wedged between her teeth and his own biting gently into her shoulder when just his lips on hers wasn't enough anymore. He groaned when she came; she bit down hard on his thumb and tilted her head back.

She met his eyes intensely.

He shuddered his own release and grasped her hair, drawing her against his chest and burying his lips in her silken locks.

Jenny touched her palms to his face and kissed him softly. He put his arms around her shoulders, his fingers tangled in her hair. She pulled a fraction of an inch away and took a breath, her eyes vulnerable and sharp in the same moment.

"I haven't felt like this in a long time," she said to him, closing her mouth and swallowing hard at the magnanimous confession. He rubbed her shoulders softly. He knew what she meant.

"That being said," she said softly, the corners of her mouth quirking up a little, "one of us should reappear directly before Kelly calls DiNozzo."

It was twenty minutes later when Jethro had just come up from the basement and the boat that Kelly was putting dinner on the table, Jenny was just entering the room tying her hair up after a refreshing shower, and Levi was busy making inconvenient inquiries.

"…and I found Jenny in Gunny's bed. How come?" He was asking.

Jenny paused with her hands above her head and smirked, plucking the elastic from her mouth with a wicked look at Kelly.

"Gunny was sharing with Jenny and she was sleepy. Put the cap on your sippy cup."

Kelly was answering as if it wasn't a big deal it all, pointedly avoiding looking at Levi.

He shook his head, tilting it and walking to the table with his cup, banging it on the wood repetitively as he went.

"She was all wrapped like a caterpillar, though. And no clothes. How come, Mommy?" he asked, swinging under the table and peeking at them over it.

Jenny shared a look with Jethro and he gave her the barest of smiles, keeping his expression blank when Levi looked at him.

"Because Jenny is Granpa's special friend, Levi. Sit down and eat your pasketti," she said, referring to the Spaghetti as he used to.

He picked up his fork and pointed at Kelly, shaking his head again.

"Like Tim is your special friend?" he asked innocently.

Jenny snorted as she sat down at the table. Jethro glared at Kelly, suddenly very interested in the answer to that question.

Kelly avoided Jethro's eyes and set the dishes with tomato sauce, garlic bread, and spaghetti noodles on the table.

"Yes, Levi. Like Tim," she said, a slight flush to her cheeks.

Jethro glared at her and sat down hard in his usual chair. Jenny just gave Kelly a look like the cat that had cornered the canary. Kelly cleared her throat. She looked up, smiled sweetly at her father, and then looked at Levi.

"And if you have any more questions, just ask your grandfather to explain himself. Now eat," she said, and Levi listened happily, looking at Jethro as if his day had just been made.

Jenny did not even have the good grace to hide her mocking smirk

* * *

"Night, night, Jenny," mumbled Levi as she pulled his bedroom door shut, putting her hand against it and smiling softly.

She turned and leaned against the little boy's shut door, reaching up to touch Jim's old, charred dog tag through the blouse Jethro had provided for her. It felt so alien to be around a kid again. It was even weirder to be this emotionally exposed to someone.

Levi had refused to go to bed unless Jenny read to him. She didn't understand why he had taken to her, and she had seen that Kelly was vehemently against it, afraid Jenny wouldn't want anything to do with him.

She pushed away from Levi's door, surprised she wasn't fighting off tears or ignoring the dull ache of sadness in the back of her head.

Kelly looked up at her when she moved into the living room, turning towards the basement.

"Dad's in the back yard, watching the puppy" she said, pausing in reading her book. "You didn't have to put him to bed, Jenny. I can't imagine—"

"I miss my son," Jenny interrupted honestly. She went to the glass doors that led to Jethro and Kelly's back yard. "It doesn't mean I begrudge you yours. You are very lucky Kelly," she paused and slid open the door. "He's a good kid."

Kelly smiled falteringly.

"Thank you," she murmured, returning slowly to her book.

Jenny stepped out on the back porch and shut the door silently—though not silently enough to bypass Jethro's military-trained hearing. He glanced over at her from the porch swing, pulling his hand away from his chin and letting it rest on the side of the swing.

Jenny folded her arms and walked forward, rocking on her heels and looked out into the shadowy backyard, glancing up at the stars. She smiled.

"I spent a lot of time miserable. I loved Jim so much and Peter…well, losing a child is a whole different kind of pain," she swallowed, blinking at the moon. "Jim wouldn't recognize me. It doesn't matter; I'm not the same person I was. But he would have _hated_ what I've done to myself," she looked at her feet, hearing his voice. "How drunk I was last night. _God_."

She fell silent, aware Jethro was intently focused on her. Listening. She never talked this much. Not like this.

"He isn't here to…he's gone. Jim would want me to be happy," she looked over at him and parted her lips, unsure of how well what she was going to say would go over. He met her eyes.

"Shannon would feel the same way, Jethro," she said. "About you."

Jethro realized she was, whether it was what she was saying to him right now or not, worried that he was still holding on too tightly to Shannon to feel for her.

He leaned forward on his knees.

"Shannon had these…rules," he muttered, glaring at Jen's smirk as she thought of the parallel to her own work-place doctrine. "The most important one was—well, 'Don't be an idiot, _Jethro'_ might have been, but I broke that one a hell of a lot—"

Jenny laughed shakily and he smiled before he swallowed and continued.

"She told me to never stop loving her," he said quietly. He didn't break eye contact with Jenny. "I haven't. I won't. You won't stop loving Jim, or Peter," he shrugged, opening his hands on his knees. "But you're right, Jen. They're gone."

Saying that was kind of like solving quite a few problems for both of them.

She walked over to the swing and sat down. He leaned back after looking at her a moment and rested his arm on the back of it. In a very rare show of feminism, Jenny drew her legs up onto the swing and curled up next to him, resting her head against his shoulder.

Jethro kissed her hair softly, laying his cheek against the crown of her head.

"I'm sorry, Jenny," he told her sincerely, and for once, it was okay that someone said that about Jim and Peter, because he meant it. And he understood.

"Let me tell you something, Cowboy," she said in a murmur, reaching for his hand on the back of the swing and pulling it around her. He grunted.

"Don't freak out," she warned, raising a brow. He smirked against her crimson locks, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

"I might fall in love with you," she said simply.

Taken aback by the honesty for the merest of seconds, Jethro grinned.

"That'll be the day," he growled

She smacked her hand against his thigh, a genuine smile breaking over her face as a laugh escaped her lips.

* * *

_Let me address Jenny's driving under the influence: That's how I wrote it, that's how I like it. Yes its wrong; no I don't condone it, but it was an experiment in what emotional distress can push a person to do. Kelly's opposition to it addresses the fact that it was wrong no matter what her reason was.  
-Alexandra_


	12. 11

_A/N: Thank you for the excellent feedback on the last chapter:) I'm much obliged. _

_Note that we are nearing the end. There are two more chapters after this; one of them an epilogue. _

* * *

Kelly Gibbs spun around slowly in Timothy McGee's rickety, antique chair, lifting a coffee mug he'd provided her with to her lips and giving her companion a passive look over the edge. Tim fidgeted and looked at her earnestly. Kelly rested her free hand on the neat manuscript next to Tim's quaint, ancient typewriter.

She swallowed her hot beverage slowly and lowered the coffee cup

She tapped her nail against the pile.

"This," she began, torturing poor Tim, "is _fantastic_, Tim."

She could almost hear the breath of relief rush out of him and his shoulders relaxed; Tim was standing against a wall next to his bookshelf.

"You really think so? I mean—I don't mean you'd lie but, really, Kelly? It's kind of…amateur and—"

Kelly held up a hand and laughed good-naturedly, stopping him in his fumbling. She looked at her colleague with bright eyes and grinned.

"_Really_, Tim. I had no idea you were so talented."

He flushed a little.

"ARGGGGH! DIE! Pyoo Pyooo!"

Kelly flinched slightly at the incredibly loud eruption from the other side of the bookshelf and leaned over a little, peering through empty space at her child. Tim did the same, bending a little to look.

Levi still stood on Tim's computer chair, in awe of the high-tech screens around him, a controller in his small hands, wrapped up in the world of video games and fantasy fights. He cackled scarily and jumped, his fingers moving rapidly on the controller.

"Hey. Star Captain. I told you not to jump on that chair," Kelly said sternly.

"Yes, Mommy."

She rolled her eyes.

"DIE!" screeched Levi again.

Kelly sat back and looked at Tim suspiciously.

"He's not killing _people_ is he?"

Tim made a face and scoffed.

"Only very evil aliens and threats to the empire," Tim responded reassuringly.

"Ah," Kelly nodded. She smirked. "Your inner geek is showing, Tim."

He looked at her skeptically. When was it not?

Levi upped his volume again and yelled triumphantly. Kelly snapped her eyes to him again.

"LEVI."

He stopped.

"What, Mom?" he demanded, stomping his foot.

"Tim lives in an apartment. He has very close neighbors. Any more yelling like that and you're done."

He scowled at her and turned back around, his shoulders drooping a little. Kelly smiled and took a drink of her coffee turning her attention back to Tim.

"It doesn't matter, really," Tim said with a shrug. His look darkened. "I'd like to get the guy above me back for all the Swinger Parties he keeps having."

Kelly lifted a brow.

"What decade is he living in?" she snorted. Tim just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

He glanced sideways at his manuscript and Kelly glanced at it, patting it encouragingly.

"It really is good, Tim," she said pointedly.

"Do you think it has potential to get published?" he asked uncertainly.

Kelly nodded without hesitating for a moment. She smiled a little and leaned forward, cradling her coffee cup in her palms on her knees.

"I have no doubt Shep would love to read about Genevieve Flockherd and her adventures with the Marine Felony Investigative Unit," she teased, drawing a blush to McGee's face again.

He picked up his own coffee mug and Kelly leaned back again, smiling. She was glad to be spending time with McGee again. He had made good on his promise to take her out on her birthday, and offered her coffee back at his place after Levi had worn out the entire Chuck. E Cheese staff.

It was an interesting way to celebrate her twenty-fourth, but she couldn't have really imagined it without her son anyway. Levi was pretty much all that mattered anymore and she wouldn't change things for the world.

"Tim! Timmy! Tim! I got you a new score! It's flashing blue! Tim!" Levi turned around and was waving excitedly to Tim. Kelly smiled as Tim turned around and gave Levi a thumb up, which thrilled Levi.

He whirled around and returned to playing, complete with gun and spaceship noises that only combined with the ones already in the game.

Tim looked at Kelly and winced.

"He destroyed your high score, didn't he?" she murmured.

"It only flashes blue if you suck," he admitted in a low voice. Kelly gave him a sympathetic look and turned half of her mouth down, twirling in the chair a little.

"Tim, you don't have to let him play. You're good about that, but don't feel like you have to."

Tim gave her a look.

"It's just a game," he shrugged. "That I have beaten nineteen times," he added casually.

Kelly snorted. She ran her finger around the rim of her coffee cup and took a slow drink, looking up at Tim thoughtfully.

"I'm just saying, if he bothers you, let me know. You're not required to put up with him," she offered hesitantly.

"I _like_ Levi, Kelly," he said firmly. "I wouldn't have asked you out if it bothered me you had a kid. I'm not _Tony_."

Kelly tilted her head back and laughed.

"You're making me blush," she muttered. Tim grinned.

She fell silent, and they listened to Levi's excited sounds as he continued to play, talking to characters, and occasionally talking to them. It had been a couple of weeks since her father had told her about Jenny's family.

She'd gradually found out that most of the team knew, even if Jenny thought they didn't—all except for Kate.

"Er, is your dad still made at me for stealing you on your birthday?" Tim asked slowly, sounding sheepish. He must have heard Jethro yelling that through the phone when he called about meeting her.

Kelly rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively.

"Never fear, Timothy, all's well. Jenny is there to stop him from breaking out the Bravo61 sniper rifle."

Tim's eyes widened for just a moment until he realized Kelly was joking. Still, he wasn't so sure. He had the feeling her dad might very well kill him if he ever made a wrong move.

"Um," McGee began again. He fidgeted. Goodness, the man was good at fidgeting. "So, Jenny and your Dad are still—er, together?"

Kelly gave him an absurd look.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Tony thought they might break up," he murmured.

"Tony gossips like an old woman," Kelly snorted, turning towards Tim completely.

"MOMMY I WON AGAIN! MOMMY!" Levi jumped off the chair and dashed around the bookshelf, launching himself into her lap. Gasping, Kelly lifted her coffee mug out of harm's way and gently set it down, reaching down to catch Levi.

She smiled good-naturedly.

"Again? No way. You're pretty good at this, huh?"

Levi nodded vigorously and sprang away from her.

"Tim taught me the game secret while you were fixing coffee," he announced, beaming at Tim. He scampered up to him and looked up, his hands on his hips. "Can I do the next level, please?!"

"It's getting late, Levi," Kelly began.

Tim gave her a quick look that told her he didn't mind at all and she nodded slowly.

Levi gave a whoop of excitement and Tim followed him to set up the next part of the game. Kelly listened to them talking.

"Which button makes it go faster?"

"Blue. And hey, Levi, if you press red, you can jump real high, and catch the little gold coins."

"COOL!"

Kelly looked down into her diminishing coffee, smiling a little. She wasn't sure Levi completely understood what kind of relationship Kelly had with Tim, but he liked Tim—a lot. It was for that reason that she was nervous. She liked Tim, and she knew he liked her, but there was a kid involved.

She didn't want Levi to get confused or upset. And her father, annoying as it was, was already on her back about it.

Tim reappeared a few minutes later.

"Star command is up and running," he announced with a laugh.

"And thus the five-year-old is so occupied for another half an hour," she added with a smile.

Tim nodded. He wandered into the kitchen and took a chair from the table, pulling it up so he could sit with Kelly. He held his coffee in his lap as well, mimicking her, and sat back, relaxing a little.

Kelly rubbed her thumb against her mug, looking at Levi, and then looked over at Tim impassively, her hair brushing her shoulders loosely.

"You know about Jenny's little boy," she said, a statement of fact rather than a question. Tim just nodded. Kelly sighed. "I can't imagine losing a child," she said.

"Neither can I," Tim answered simply. Kelly looked at him, studying his features. She kind of needed someone to talk about it with, but her dad wasn't willing and she wouldn't dare bring it up to Jenny.

"Well now I keep thinking about it," she muttered, annoyed. "I keep wanting to say something to Jenny to make her feel better."

"Don't," Tim warned shortly.

Kelly looked at him.

He shrugged.

"I tried once. I…last year, after I joined the team. It only hurts her," he paused and shrugged his shoulders. "Jenny handles it her own way. She doesn't need the support. Or doesn't want it."

Kelly nodded, accepting his advice. She knew it would be unwise to say anything. Still, she felt like she needed to. She quietly looked up at Tim again.

"How did you find out, then? Tony tell you?" she asked.

"Sort of," he muttered. "We had a case with a child witness. Protection detail. Jenny was really good with him. I kept asking why she'd never had kids, or if she wanted them. Out of the blue, Tony bet me I couldn't hack into Jenny's personnel file. Guess he knew I'd take it as a challenge and do it," Tim shrugged. "I read about Peter and Jim. Never mentioned kids to her again."

"Pretty humane of Tony," Kelly remarked, her brows raised.

Tim smirked, and nodded.

"Yeah, well, Tony's like her obnoxious little brother, he thinks. They used to have a fling."

"Shut-up," Kelly said, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Tim nodded. He shrugged though, blowing it off.

"It was the textbook definition of 'fling' though, not kidding. A way to scratch the itch."

Kelly sat back, intrigued by the new bit of information. She'd always thought Tony's childish, suggestive sexual remarks and banter about Jenny were purely fantasy. Perhaps not. She smirked, though, and forgot about it. Ancient history.

"I suppose Jenny can't viably tell us not to see each other, then," she said.

Tim laughed.

"I take it that means we're dating?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Tim," ordered Kelly.

Tim grinned.

"Okay, then, I won't stutter this time when I ask to take you out again—just you, this time," he said, and Kelly beamed, about to answer, when a loud crash sounded from the other side of the bookshelf.

"Uh-oh," they heard quietly.

Kelly jumped up and Tim followed; they both rounded the corner, finding Levi sprawled in a tangle of the chair, having apparently disobeyed and begun jumping on it again, sending himself into an unorganized heap on the floor.

"Uh-oh," he grumbled again, pointing at the screen.

The computers were all blank.

"Levi Michael Gibbs, _what_ did you do?" Kelly demanded, crouching down and taking his arm, dragging him up with a livid look on her face. He slouched and looked at his feet, holding up the controller.

"Uh, he just unplugged the consuls," Tim announced from under the computer set-up, pushing a few plugs back in. The screens whirred to life and Kelly closed her eyes in relief. She took the controller from Levi and held it away, giving him a stern look.

"When I tell you not to do something, son, it isn't for my own health. You listen to me because there are consequences of your actions. What if you had broken Tim's games?" she asked.

Levi scuffed his foot on the floor and turned around, yanking his arm away from Kelly's grip.

"I'm sorry, Tim," he muttered.

Tim backed out from under the computers and turned around on his knees, shrugging a little.

"It's okay, you didn't mean to," he said.

Levi nodded, and then reached for his controller. Kelly held it out of his reach and then handed it to McGee, shaking her head.

"No sir, you're finished for tonight. We need to be getting home anyway," she said, ruffling his hair.

"I don't want to!" he informed her, crossing his arms.

"Too bad, punk," she responded. He stomped his foot and stuck his tongue out at her. "I told you to stop doing that before I cut it off."

"Mommmmmmy," he whined.

Kelly ignored him and stood up, pushing a hand back through her hair with a sigh and smiling at Tim.

"Shoes, Levi," she ordered, starting towards Tim's kitchen where her purse was. Tim followed her, his hands in his pockets. He watched her fish for her keys.

"If he wants to stay, you guys can stay the night," he offered. "I have a spare room. He doesn't have school tomorrow."

Kelly smiled a little, slipping her purse over her shoulder and holding her keys loosely in her hand as she turned towards Tim.

"That's sweet," she said, "and normally, I'd take you up on the offer—if it was just me," she added, and Tim raised his eyebrows. She smirked. "But I don't want to confuse Levi," she admitted quietly, lifting her shoulders. "I'm going to be cautious in that respect."

He nodded, seeing her point, and took her light jacket off of the table, handing it to her gallantly. She nodded in thanks and slung it over her arm, exiting the kitchen and peering at Levi. He was kicking his shoes petulantly, clearly refusing to put them on.

Kelly rolled her eyes and simply picked him up, balancing him on her waist.

"You're five. You're too old for this," she informed him grumpily. He let his hard head drop onto her shoulder and she winced, glaring at his back. "He's tired," she said to Tim.

"Am _not_. Don't wanna leave," he piped up.

She smiled, and Tim swept up his shoes, tucking them into her purse.

"Thanks," she murmured, tightening her grip on the ever-growing Levi. She turned towards the door and Tim wormed in front of her, opening it for her. "Gallant," she commented, smirking. He shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, stepping into the doorway as she stepped into the hall.

Kelly paused, looked at him, and then put her hand on the back of Levi's head firmly. She smirked and pressed her lips to Tim's quickly, giving him a parting kiss he hadn't been expecting. He blushed and mumbled a goodbye.

Kelly started down the hall, releasing Levi's head and jingling her keys.

"Mommy, did you kiss Tim?"

Damn perceptive kid.

"Yes, Levi," she admitted, rolling her eyes. He lifted his head and looked at her wickedly, looking so much like her father for a minute that it scared the hell out of her.

"Gunny said to tell him if you kissed Tim," he informed her loudly.

Kelly glared.

"You will do no such thing, tattletale," she warned.

"Yeah HUH," Levi retorted, scowling at her. "'Cause you're mean and you made me leave."

Kelly laughed as she wrenched open the car door, shaking her head. So much like her father, indeed.

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs glared menacingly at the puppy that leapt up onto his chest, squirming towards him with wide big, liquid brown eyes and perky little ears. It whined at him pitifully and attempted to lick him on the nose.

"Bad dog," muttered Jethro, scratching him behind the ears.

Jenny reappeared in the living room, running a hand back through her thick hair, a half full glass of wine in her hand. She arched an eyebrow at the dog. Jethro stopped petting him and glared at the puppy again.

"You're in her spot," he informed the puppy.

Pterodactyl whined sadly and thumped his tail. Jethro narrowed his eyes and the puppy growled playfully at him. Jenny laughed and sat down on the couch at Jethro's side, pushing his legs over and rubbing Pterodactyl's soft head.

"Scoot," she ordered, and winked at the puppy. He clambered to his feet and tumbled down the couch to Jethro's feet, stretching out there instead and whining again, his tail wagging at Jenny. She met Jethro's eyes with a smirk.

"I see how it is," Jethro muttered darkly.

"He knows who the boss is," Jenny murmured, taking a sip of her wine and cutting her eyes at him.

"This is my house," Jethro whined. "I am the alpha male."

Jenny laughed softly and set her wine glass down on the coffee table, stretching comfortably before she snuggled up to him, placing her hands firmly against his shoulders.

"You keep chasing that dream, babe," she quipped indulgently, pressing her lips playfully against his jaw. He pinched her leg and she snickered, pressing her knuckles into his muscles and beginning to knead.

Jethro laid his head back and closed his eyes, more than willing to enjoy the massage if Jenny was voluntarily offering it. She had hands of gold when it came to working out his stiff muscles. She shifted and placed a leg over his waist, straddling his hips to access him better.

He rested one of his hands against her bare thigh, stroking the smooth, fair skin lazily. The television played a movie dully in the background, something Jenny had put in on a whim. She was supposed to be distracting him from the fact that Kelly's little twitchy colleague guy had stolen her away from Jethro on her birthday.

She was doing a fairly good job.

Jenny leaned forward and pressed her lips against his; a long, slow kiss that prompted him to tangle his unrestrained hand in her red locks. This had pretty much made up the entire night—aside from Jethro dragging Jen into bed the moment Kelly walked out. It might have been twenty years since he, for lack of a better description, laid around making out with his girlfriend.

Jenny paused a little inquiringly in her massage when she felt Jethro twitch his leg under her.

"Damn dog is licking my foot," he growled, his lips brushing hers. She arched her brows lazily and tilted her head, smiling devilishly.

"Should I be jealous?" she asked, and he snorted, drawing her lips to his again.

She redoubled her efforts in her massage and Jethro groaned, tugging her hair gently to expose her neck to him. She sighed softly and pressed her nose into his cheek, smiling. He kissed her neck, the unshaven stubble on his chin scratching against her seductively.

Jethro slid his hand over her thigh and under the slouchy, soft material of the yellow shirt she had on, dipping his fingers under the delicate lace of her panties and finding her sensitive warmth.

"God, Jethro," she murmured appreciatively, pressing her knuckles into his shoulders firmly.

He rested his free hand against her neck, stroking her cheek as he pressed his thumb against her centre teasingly. She bit her lip, her forehead pressing into his, and flattened her hands against his shoulders.

Jethro kissed her mouth again, coaxed her lips open. He slipped a finger inside her and she moaned, her hands tightening on his shoulders. He felt her breath catch in her throat; her nails dig into his skin through his shirt and backed off. Jenny lifted her head and looked at him, a fetching pink flush dusting her nose and cheeks.

He pressed another finger in her and reveled in her quiet groan and the way she shivered against him. She closed her eyes languidly and drew her lip into her mouth again, her breath coming quicker the more he moved his hand.

She reached for the hand he had on her neck and wrapped her fingers around it tightly, pushing his arm back into the cushions behind him.

"Look at me, Jen," he said huskily, and she did, her emerald, enticing eyes dark and full of arousal. He thrust his fingers in a come-hither motion and she gasped, arching into his hand.

She came with a shudder and a soft, sharp cry, his name tumbling from her lips like a prayer.

Jenny slumped against him, her muscles relaxing, her skin flushed and warm all over. He brought her hand, still clutching his, to his mouth and brushed his lips over the knuckles. Pterodactyl barked interestedly at them and jumped onto the back of the couch, wagging excitedly, his ears perked up.

Jenny let her breath out in a rush, her eyes lighting up as she laughed at the innocent puppy. Jethro grinned, his eyes on the smile gracing her lips and the sparkle in her enticing eyes. Her hair was a hot mess, all over her shoulders and her back.

"You're beautiful, Jenny," he muttered, reaching to touch her face again, brushing the backs of his fingers against her cheek and pushing stray hairs away. She smirked at him lopsidedly and he swore she blushed, though he'd never seen her do such a thing.

"So eloquent you can be, handsome," she answered, blinking slowly so her thick, dark lashes brushed against her cheeks.

She closed her lips thoughtfully, her sharp, mesmerizing eyes on his intently. The murmuring voices on the TV got louder in the silence and Pterodactyl whined at them, barking a little, begging for attention by wagging his tail viciously.

"Ironic," she remarked observantly. "You, Mr. strong-and-silent, getting along famously with myself, the maverick of witty and bitchy with a wordy-exterior."

She smirked at him and leaned back, shifting off of him to sit against his waist on the couch again, reaching for her glass of wine. She fluttered her eyes closed as she took a sip and he turned on his side, snaking his arm around her lithe waist.

"Jen—" he said, at the same time she replaced her glass and turned, dropping to her knees on the floor by him, her hair whipping around and tumbling down her shoulder in a distracting cascade.

"—I love you," his words just came; his eyes were on her tangled curls and then her lips and then her, and for a split second she looked like he'd slapped her, so strong was her surprise.

"Yeah?" she breathed, arching an eyebrow, that deer-in-the-headlights look gone in a flash. She reached for him, her head spinning, and fighting the stupid, ridiculous urge to cry. "I think I know how you feel, Jethro," she whispered hoarsely.

She kissed him, hard. She pulled him onto the floor with her, ungracefully and forcefully; he jolted the coffee table and from the small clink that they heard, spilt the wine. And now Pterodactyl was _really_ barking at them.

She bunched her hand into his shirt. Jethro dragged himself into a less haphazard position, sitting against the couch, and tugged her unceremoniously into his lap. Jenny hooked her fingers into his jeans.

"Care to let a girl return the favor?" she murmured in his ear, her lips brushing his skin.

He could only groan in response, and wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Pterodactyl; quiet," he barked.

"Phone's ringing," Jenny murmured suddenly, turning her head.

Jethro winced at the shrill noise that reached his ears. He actually felt dizzy. His heart was hammering and he still wasn't sure he was breathing right. Too much had just happened; seven different emotions—give or take—had just hit him like a ton of bricks.

He snapped his fingers at the cordless landline that lay on the table, reluctantly answering it when he saw his daughter's number on the caller ID.

"Yeah, Kelly," he grunted, rubbing his face.

Jenny leaned back against the coffee table, running her hand through her hair. She stretched her legs towards him, tangling them in his, taking a shuddering breath. It took him a few seconds to realize Kelly was almost hysterical.

"Calm down, Kelly," he muttered, furrowing his brow. He still couldn't understand her, but he noticed she was crying and he tensed.

"KELLY," he shouted, quieting her. "What's wrong, honey?"

Jenny gave him a questioning look, stilling and watching him intently.

It was still hard to understand her. She was scared and upset, and her voice was shaking as she tried to explain about Levi and a car…he set his jaw harshly and gripped the phone tightly, finally grasping the meaning of her broken words.

He stood up swiftly.

"Jethro," Jenny asked, her brow furrowing. She looked up at him worriedly.

"Kelly, where are they taking him?"

"Bethesda Naval Hospital," his daughter managed. Jenny had stood up; she came to his side, resting her arm on his supportively. She'd never seen Jethro look so pale.

"Just take a deep breath Kel, sit down. I'll be there, okay? Kelly?"

She finally responded to him in a weak voice and he nodded, even though she couldn't see it. She mumbled something about him hurrying.

"Just hang on, Kelly," he said, snapping the phone shut before he could hear a reply.

He was almost unaware of Jenny at his side, obviously concerned.

"Jethro?"

"I have to go," he said sharply, shaking her off and stalking towards the hall where his shoes where. Pterodactyl howled and leapt off the couch, bounding towards his feet. Jenny grabbed his shoulder firmly and stopped him.

"Is she okay, Jethro?" Jenny asked quietly, her worry sincere. "What happened?" she probed him calmly.

He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, holding onto her.

"She and Levi where in an accident," he said, "Someone hit their car, and Levi," Jethro stopped talking. He just stopped, and Jenny squeezed his shoulder. He jerked away again and put his shoes on, snatching his keys from his coat pocket.

"I'm going to Bethesda," he said mechanically, completely shut down.

Jenny looked at his hands and the slight shake that plagued them, and nodded once, pressing her lips together.

"I'll come, Jethro," she said decisively. She slipped her hand down his arm and gently started to take his keys. "Let me drive," she said.

He clenched his fist and she paused just a moment before continuing to wrench them from him. She had already made her decision and she'd be damned if he thought he could change her mind.

"Jesus Christ, Jen, I can drive," he barked at her, and she blew it off, ignoring the touchiness. His grandson was hurt, possibly his daughter; a little attitude could be ignored.

She took the keys and disappeared to the bedroom, pulling on her track pants from earlier and her cozy flats before she reentered the hall. She pointed at him, a hard look on her face.

"You can be scared, Jethro," she informed him sharply. "You think I took it well when I saw that plane hit the Pentagon? Freak out on the way to the hospital, because you are not allowed to lose it when your daughter needs you," she said strongly, yanking the door open and gesturing for him to leave.

He stormed out and she followed, thrusting out her foot to keep the whining Pterodactyl in the house and following him to the car. She hurried to the driver's seat of his pick-up and wasted no time, perfectly aware that her suspect-chasing driving skills would get them there faster than he could imagine.

* * *

As annoying and creepy as Leroy Jethro Gibbs sometimes found Kelly's colleagues, he felt warmer towards all of them when he saw two or three of them with her, chief among them, Timothy McGee.

He was a little wet—it had started to rain on the drive over—but Kelly didn't seem to care when she stood up from the waiting room chair she was sitting in and threw herself into his embrace, bringing up her hands to cover her face.

Jethro put his hand on the back of her head and kissed the crown of her hair, taking an immediate dislike to the sterile hospital environment.

"It happened so fast I—I tried to swerve but he just…that bastard was _strung_ on heroin, Daddy, and he hit us! Levi's hurt…he's hurt, he screamed so much, Daddy--"

"Hush, Kelly," Jethro muttered, rubbing her shoulder. She cried into his shoulder, muttering incoherently before she just stopped. Jethro glanced at Jenny, and at the stricken face of Tim and the looks of worry and concern on Kate and Ducky's faces.

Jenny reached out and touched Kelly's shoulder; Kelly looked at her, hugging onto Jethro, her eyes red and swollen and her face white as a sheet.

She closed her eyes, shaking.

"I want to see him."

"I know," Jethro mumbled tightly, looking down at her auburn hair. He winced when he saw the rips and scuffs in her clothing. "Are you okay?"

"No goddamnit!"

"Kelly," he soothed, stroking her hair when she tried to jerk away from him, maybe even hit him, if the look on her face was a warning at all. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "No. Yes, I mean. I'm not hurt. I'm…," she paused and held herself away from her father, looking down at her blood spattered clothing. "It's Levi's."

Jenny stepped closer and reached across Kelly's front to her other shoulder, her eyes solemn and her mouth pressed together. Kelly bowed her head and lifted a shaking hand away from Jethro's shoulder to her mouth.

"What if he…?" she asked desperately. "I'm scared," she sobbed.

"Kelly," Jenny called softly, giving Jethro a quick look as she took his hands away from his daughter. Kelly didn't seem to be able to stop crying. She turned towards Jenny and Jenny took her arm, drawing her away from Jethro.

He turned and Kelly wrapped her arms around Jenny tightly, burying her face in Jenny's neck.

"I know, honey," he heard Jenny mumble softly.

That was it. Jenny did know. Jenny might be more of a help to Kelly right now than he could be. Jethro turned towards the others, his hand over his face in frustration and stormed forward, placing his hands on the back of a chair and gripping until his knuckles where white.

He looked directly at Ducky.

"How long's it been since they brought him in?" he asked curtly.

"Ah, Levi has been in the emergency room almost an hour," Ducky answered promptly. Jethro nodded, thanking the older man silently from such an easy response.

"What happened, Tim?" he asked, turning to the young agent as calmly as possible. If Tim was here already, no doubt the accident had been close to his apartment.

Tim swallowed hard and straightened his shoulders. Next to him, seated on the edge of a chair, Kate put her face in her hands.

"She, uh, left with Levi about ten-ish, and I heard tires squealing I guess…faintly, maybe ten minutes later. She called me after she called the ambulance, I ran out to the scene with my gun, called the local LEOs—"

"LEOs?" grunted Jethro.

"Law enforcement officers," Kate piped up thickly. She looked at Jethro. "Tony's dealing with them and the stoned son of a bitch who hit Kelly," she explained. Jethro nodded at her, and looked back at Tim.

He looked lost, and more than upset.

"I called Tony, cuffed the other driver once I got his pulse, stayed with Kelly…" he trailed off.

"Levi?" Jethro asked forcefully.

Tim glanced past Jethro at Kelly and lowered his voice.

"I think it was bad," he said stiffly. "The other guy hit Levi's side of the car."

Jethro swore violently under his breath. Kate smirked grimly at the oh-so-classy marine-corp bred language.

"I told Kelly she and Levi could stay with me," Tim mumbled, distressed. "I should have insisted—"

"This is not your fault, kid," Jethro grunted distractedly, pointing at Tim. He glanced at Dr. Mallard and jerked his head tersely away from the group. The Medical Examiner nodded and put his head together with Jethro in a bit more of a private area.

"Were you at the scene?" Jethro asked.

Ducky shook his head.

"I arrived here soon after Kate and Tim, Agent Todd called me from the scene."

"You know anything about Levi, Ducky?" Jethro asked insistently.

Again, the older man just shook his head apologetically.

"Only what I heard the ER doctor tell Kelly, I'm afraid," he said. "That Levi had a head injury and he had been stabilized in the ambulance. They did not have much to say to Kelly, yet."

"Yeah," Jethro muttered, glaring at the heavy metal doors that led to the emergency hallways where his grandson was being treated right now. He put a hand to his forehead and glanced over at Kelly and Jenny.

Jenny had coaxed Kelly into a chair and was talking to her quietly, her hand on his daughter's cheek tenderly.

"I am surprised Jennifer came," Ducky remarked, nodding at the redhead. "I would not have imagined her willing to place herself in this position."

Jethro's eyes snapped onto the doctor.

"You know," he accused, and then restrained himself. He had thought Jenny had said Tony DiNozzo was the only one who knew about her family. Ducky looked at him sadly.

"My dear Jethro, the only one of us who does not know, is Kate. The rest of the agency, I cannot speak for; I myself was working to identify the bodies after the September eleventh attacks," he paused, drawing his crinkled old eyes away from Jenny. "I had files and dog tags to match, records to verify. Jim Laurent and dependent Peter Laurent, deceased. Survived by wife and mother Jennifer Laurent, nee Shepard."

Ducky repeated the verdict as if it were the day he'd first said it.

"I gave that report to Commander Laurent's boss on scene, and he ushered me away as she came walking up. My God, that poor woman was a mess."

Jethro sighed and looked over at Jenny and his daughter, exhausted, suddenly, and overwhelmed.

"You expect her to be anything else?" he muttered darkly, glancing at the team, too. He clapped Ducky on the shoulder, nodding in thanks, and turned his back, shoving his hands into his pockets to approach Kelly.

She was talking to Jenny now, and as he stopped in front of them and crouched down, she surprised the hell out of him by laughing, a smile breaking through her tears. He looked at Jenny. She was good, if she'd gotten Kelly to smile.

Kelly looked at him.

"I hear you're cheating on Jenny with the dog," she teased hoarsely.

Jethro blinked. He narrowed his eyes and then smiled a little cautiously. Kelly smiled and then pressed her lips together, reaching up to hold onto a strand of hair comfortingly. She used to do it when she was a real little kid. He remembered.

Jethro reached for her hand and held it, squeezing it reassuringly. Kelly covered his hand with her other one.

"I love you, Kelly," he said.

"I know, Daddy," she answered. "You're sort of required to by law."

He snorted. Jenny glared at him and poked him rudely in the shoulder, drawing a twin glare from her silver-haired lover. She gave him a prim, narrow-eyed look with her emerald orbs.

"Who do you think you are, you fickle devil dog?" she demanded snippily. She affected a slight southern accent. "Here you are, telling some other girl you love her right in front of me, not even an hour after…"

"Dad?" Kelly gasped, raising her eyebrows at him and staring, looking away from Jenny when she heard the words.

Jethro cleared his throat and muttered under his breath.

"Gibbs?"

Saved by the doctor.

Kelly jerked around towards the sound of their name, half-rising from her seat, Jenny's insinuation that Jethro had said the 'L' word wiped from her mind. Jethro stood and pushed Kelly to her seat gently.

"Stay," he ordered.

"Not a fucking chance," she growled at him, standing right back up and pushing past to get to the doctor. Jethro gave her an exasperated look and glanced at Jenny.

"How dare you even try, Jethro," she snapped at him, her gaze darkening suddenly.

He scowled and turned around, chasing after Kelly. Ducky approached the doctor as well; Tim and Kate hung back anxiously.

"Kelly Gibbs?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," she breathed tersely.

"Todd Gelfand, I'm your son's doctor. Who are you?" Dr. Gelfand asked, glancing at Jethro.

"Her father," Jethro growled. Gelfand nodded and looked warily at Ducky. "We meet again, Dr. Mallard."

Kelly said quietly: "My son?"

Gelfand drew his gaze away from Ducky and looked at Kelly, nodding purposefully.

"I'd rather not keep you in suspense, Miss Gibbs. Your little boy is _fine,_" Dr. Gelfand said, and Kelly put a hand to her breast, smiling almost as if she didn't believe it. She pressed her lips together and glanced at Jethro, before looking back to Dr. Gelfand.

"Will you marry me?" she asked, relieved, and _joking_.

"Kelly," hissed Jethro.

Dr. Gelfand laughed. He seemed to loosen up a little at that.

"I was wondering when medical school was going to start getting me dates," he responded good-naturedly, tapping his pen against his clipboard. Kelly smiled and arched her neck, trying to peek at it. "Levi suffered quite a bit off blood loss, but we remedied that fairly safely with a transfusion. There was a deep cut on his left leg that we stitched right up, no problems, and the majority of blood you saw was from the injury on the back of his skull right," Dr. Gelfand reached behind Kelly's head and touched her head, indicating the spot, "here. He's got nine stitches in there, I'm afraid, but that kid is a fighter."

"Yeah," Kelly said thickly, shifting her weight anxiously. Jethro could tell at this point all she really gave a damn about was seeing him.

"We put him under to stitch him up; it was easier that way, and much faster. I know you want to see him, so I'll save the technicalities for later," Dr. Gelfand said, inclining his head.

"Where is he? Is he awake?" Kelly asked desperately.

"It will be a few more minutes, Miss Gibbs; Levi is being moved out of intensive care to a recovery room. A nurse will let you know when he's ready. He will mostly likely still be asleep. Anesthesia's tough stuff for a five-year-old."

Kelly put her hands to her mouth and closed her eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath. Jethro put his arm around her shoulders, feeling only relief, and she looked at him, smiling widely.

"Thank you, Dr. Gelfand," she said warmly, tears threatening her voice again. Jethro nodded to the man, and Ducky reached out to take his hand, mentioning something about a mutual friend of theirs.

Kelly turned to Jethro and brushed her hands under her eyes, smearing make-up all over carelessly. She pecked his cheek and glanced to the others, Tim; who was looking at her anxiously, and Kate; who just looked scared to look anywhere but the floor.

"I'll go brief them," she murmured, melting into her NCIS jargon in her distraction. She slipped away from Jethro and walked slowly over to her friends, reaching out to hug Tim.

Dr. Gelfand said goodbye to Ducky, nodded to Jethro, and Ducky turned back with a more satisfied smile.

"That poor man sees us in here far too much, I'm afraid," he said good-naturedly.

Jethro snorted.

"Oy, Red—"

"Ah, there's Anthony," Ducky said, starting past Jethro.

Jethro turned and saw Tony walking in, looking pissed and harassed, his NCIS cap on and windbreaker as well. He looked like he had come straight from dealing with these local LEOs Tim had spoken of.

Jethro, though, looked at Jenny, who had been farther off than he'd last seen her at a window. She turned as Tony yelled her nickname, her face unreadable, and met them sort of half-way in the midst of a chair cluster near the window.

Tony snapped a cell phone open and closed.

"I can't get the goddamn DC cops to give us jurisdiction on this bastard, they're claiming we have no right," he snarled, his body language tense and angry.

Jethro's eyes narrowed. If there was anyone he wanted punishing the guy who'd almost killed Levi and Kelly, it was Jenny Shepard.

"Who's the captain in charge?" Jen asked firmly.

"Some dickhead named _Fornell," _Tony growled.

Jenny's eyes flashed.

"Oh. That dickhead," she said nonchalantly. "I'll deal with it."

Tony thrust his cell into his pocket and fumed, looking around. Ducky had inched away towards the others, choosing to remove himself from an angry Tony, apparently.

"Hey, man," Tony grunted at Jethro. He looked at Jenny briefly and did a double take. Jethro knew the younger man's intuitive investigative skills had picked up on Jenny's impeccably restrained distress.

"You okay, Red?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"You want to back off, DiNozzo?" she responded like a gunshot, hostile. He lifted his brows but said nothing, glancing at Jethro and turning on his heel.

"What's the verdict, Probies?" they heard him ask, prancing over to the lighter group.

Jethro knew her vicious response to Tony had been a defense mechanism to get him away from her. He just didn't know if it was going to be turned on him next.

"Jen—"

"I'm glad Levi is okay," she said, glancing away stonily.

Jethro moved forward and grabbed her arm, sighing. He should have known this would be hard on her. She jerked as if to pull away and spun towards him, that dog tag she cherished so much tumbling out of her shirt and tinkling against her clothing.

"You can take a long walk off a short bridge for all I care, Jethro," she snapped, and he recognized that for exactly what it was. Just a reaction she would regret later. He knew she had risked a lot of herself in developing a relationship with Levi, and a scare like this was only sending her crashing back to memories of losing her son.

"No, thanks," he answered firmly. "Is it your time of the month, Jen?" he asked a little harshly, but with enough levity to let her know it was a tease. He tugged her to him whether she liked it or not and pulled her against his chest, cradling her head on his shoulder.

She trembled and hit him feebly.

"I know it hurts Jen," he muttered, frowning in her hair. "It's hard."

"Damn waterproof eyeliner," she swore. "Stays on in the shower, comes off when I cry."

She put her head against his chest and her arm around his waist, hugging him. He felt a few suppressed tears and seep through his shirt. She looked up and kissed him, probably aware of the tears of her pale cheeks. She held onto him tightly.

He kissed her back, gripping her shoulders, glad everyone was safe and alive and well. He wanted to tell Jenny she wasn't alone, she never had to be alone again. But he figured she understood that.

That's why she responded to him now, and kissed his shoulder, and laid her head on him even in public. When she knew the team was carefully avoiding even _thinking_ of looking over.

* * *

Kelly smiled again as a warm looking nurse waved her over. She dropped her conversation with Tony about what had happened mid-word and hurried over, anxious for more good news.

"You'll be pleased to hear this, honey," the older woman said kindly. "He's wakin' up little earlier than we expected. Bit fuzzy, from all that anesthetic, but he might be talkin' if he feels okay. We've got him all situated in room 1110, if you—"

"Just a moment," Kelly said, holding up her hands together and turning to get her Dad. She knew he'd be as eager to see Levi as her, even if he didn't show it. He did kind of get half the credit for raising him.

She saw her father with Jenny and faltered for a minute, her smile fading. He was talking to her by the window; she was standing very close, her hands on his waist tightly. Kelly bit her lip, a rush of sadness hitting her.

She shook it off, resolving to treat Jenny exactly how she had been or run the risk of getting eaten alive, and cupped her hand around her mouth.

"Daddy," she called, and he looked over after a brief moment. She beckoned.

He touched Jenny's cheek and turned, walking over. Jenny followed, crossing her arms forcefully at her chest and arching an eyebrow.

"We can see Levi," Kelly said breathlessly.

Jethro looked at the nurse impatiently.

"He can't have much excitement, I'm afraid," the nurse warned a little sternly.

Kelly just nodded.

"They haven't met him, have they?" Jenny scoffed, and Kelly laughed genuinely.

Kelly started forward and the nurse looked at them hesitantly.

"Family only," she said, eyeing Jenny.

She must have been briefed on Levi's records by Dr. Gelfand. Kelly hardly batted an eyelid; she thrust her thumb at Jenny and shrugged, daring the nurse to question her next words.

"She's my mother," she said nonchalantly, waltzing forward again.

Kelly Gibbs didn't even feel like she was lying when she said it. Jenny Shepard had reached a certain point of no return—particularly if she'd wrangled the 'L' word out of Leroy Jethro Gibbs—that made her family.

* * *

_Silly readers, you know I would never harm my darling Levi. Though I do pride myself on a bit of foreshadowing in the McGee/Kelly bit at the opening.  
-Alexandra_


	13. 12

_A/N: Epilogue is up next. _

* * *

Nice, long weekend off. It was a rare occurrence for Kelly Gibbs, and she was hell bent on lazily enjoying it. It was pleasantly hot outside, bright and sunshiny, and Levi was being his loveable, loud self.

She listened to him playing with Pterodactyl outside, splashing in the kiddie pool with a Frisbee for the dog and a water gun for himself. The door to the backyard was open and she sat at the dining room table, sideways in her seat, casually going over some of her finances.

"Pterodactyl, NO! SIT! Sit Pterodactyl! ARGH!"

Kelly heard a screech and a splash and assumed the dog had forgone orders and simply leapt happily into the pool to steal his Frisbee from Levi.

"MOMMY!" screamed Levi.

"I told you not to tease the dog, he's bigger than you," Kelly said, glancing over her shoulder.

Levi grumbled at her and she smirked, nibbling on the cookies she'd made for herself this morning. She leaned back and stretched, yawning, and running a hand through her messy hair, tapping her pen against the tax files in front of her.

The front door opened, slamming in the hallway with a dramatic bang and Kelly rested her arms on the table, lifting her brows and tilting her head to look down the hall.

One Jennifer Shepard waltzed in; her feet encased in impressive high heels that tied up her legs in white ribbons, clad in a summer dress that had a bright yellow bodice and a white skirt peppered with green décor.

Kelly casually chomped her teeth down on her pen, watching Jenny.

"Afternoon, sweet child o' mine," Jenny greeted, folding one arm across her stomach and resting her other elbow on it, her fingers brushing her smirking lips. She sat gracefully in a chair near Kelly, her eyes sparkling devilishly.

"Oh, damn," sighed Kelly forlornly. "You've finally killed my father, haven't you?"

"Whatever would possess you to ask that?"

"Well, you're smiling."

Jenny laughed and Kelly grinned, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Levi was still behaving himself in the backyard. She watched him stand up, roar at the dog, and then try and tackle Pterodactyl.

She snorted.

"I have an inquiry to make of you, Kelly Roseanne," Jenny drawled, her fingers brushing the underside of her chin flamboyantly.

"Mmm, and what's that? Before you ask, I suppose I should tell you I have _not_ told Dad I'm moving out yet and no I am not going to rat out Tony and Kate for having sex in the elevator last week—oops."

"Feeling confident about your performance review, darling?" Jenny asked, ignoring Kelly's words. Kelly, taken aback for a moment, gave Jenny a suspicious look.

Kelly had rounded her year mark at NCIS and her performance evaluations from Jenny and from the agency were coming up. She'd been under the impression she didn't have to worry about it much, and Jenny's sudden question worried her.

She pointed her pen at Jenny.

"This is a trap," she guessed.

Jenny just arched a brow and shook her head slowly.

"Fine. I'm fairly positive I kick ass."

"Oh, I see," Jenny murmured, casually gesturing her left hand in front of Kelly's nose. "Then you're certain this big, sparkling, shiny diamond your father gave me has nothing to do with the fact that you want a damn good evaluation?"

Kelly blinked at the flecks of light that sparkled off Jenny's ring finger. And the ring on it.

"No," she muttered slowly, before she really registered what Jenny meant.

Kelly grabbed Jenny's hand and pulled it towards her, her eyes going wide as she looked at the white gold band and the diamond that graced it, nestled snugly on Jenny's ring finger. Then, she screamed. And jumped out of her chair.

The cool smirk on Jenny's lips melted into a genuine smile.

Kelly clasped her hands, holding her fingers like a gun and bit them, looking at Jenny hesitantly and excitedly.

"Daddy proposed? He asked you to marry him?"

"I think that's how I got the ring, actually."

"And you…said yes?"

Jenny lifted her finger and looked at the ring, arching a brow before she flashed it at Kelly again.

"Well honestly, honey, would you say no to this?"

Kelly screamed again, unclasping her hands and throwing her arms around Jenny. She smiled, ignoring the awkward angle and kissing Jenny's cheek swiftly and warmly.

"I'm so happy for you, Jenny," she said softly. She released her boss-slash-stepmother and put her hands on her knees, tilting her head at Jenny appreciatively. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to him, you know."

"Stop, you're making me blush," Jenny simpered, splaying a hand dramatically against her cheek.

Kelly raised her eyebrows and looked at Jenny expectantly.

"Did he get down on one knee?" she asked conspiratorially, desperate for some juicy sap story about her unemotional, immovable rock of a father.

"Funny story about that. He threw the ring at me…"

* * *

_Her dangerous, pointed high heel collided with his shoulder as he splashed water on her again from the bank below, giving her a wicked grin as she sat on the edge of the pier glaring at him._

"_I'm warning you, Cowboy…"_

"_Just a little water, Jen."_

"_I'm wearing white."_

"_Yeah. I noticed. Why exactly did you think I was splashing you?"_

_She arched a brow and crossed her legs, letting the material of her dress fall down her thighs and expose her fair skin. He scooped up a handful of rocks and stomped through the water towards her, splashing water onto her bare legs. _

"_C'mere," he ordered, reaching for her smooth legs and pressing a kiss to her knee._

"_You'll get me wet," she simpered pitifully, a smile flashing through her green eyes. _

_He reached for her slim waist, smirking. He yanked her, drawing an outraged shriek and inciting a struggle as he pulled her legs around his waist and then let her slide down his body, splashing her heels into the cold water and dampening the edges of her dress. _

_He wrapped one arm around her tightly and spread his hand over her lower back, drawing her light, cottony dress into his fingers suggestively. _

"_I always get you wet, Jen," he growled in her ear, stealing a kiss from her neck. _

"_Such a sailor mouth," she murmured silkily, and he grinned against her cheek, helping her back to the bank next to the marina pier and dumping a few rocks into her hands. _

"_Skip stones," he ordered._

"_Forgive me, Jethro, but I thought we left the five-year-old with his neurotic mother?"_

"_Oh, sorry, Jen, I didn't know you couldn't skip 'em—here," but she just scoffed at him and flicked her wrist, skipping a stone perfectly three little rounds into the lazy water. She did it twice more for good measure and flashed a seductive grin over her bare shoulder. _

"_Think you can get your rocks off as good as me?" she asked innocently, holding her head high and turning back around. _

_He chucked something at the back of her head and it hit her square, falling to the dry rocks behind her. _

_Jenny favored him with a threatening glare, gracefully swooping down for the offending object to chuck it back below his belt. The rich white velvet, and the shape of the box, halted her. She opened it, looking thoughtfully at the engagement ring nestled inside._

_Jethro came forward slowly, his hands at his sides. She peeked at him playfully and threw the box back at him, the ring held carefully in her hand. He laughed and swatted it away._

"_Marry me, Jen," he said._

"_You sound quite sure of yourself, my silver haired fox," she responded loftily. "Suppose I refuse?"_

_He pointed casually over her shoulder. _

"_You're going in the Potomac."_

_She slipped the ring on her left hand. _

* * *

For the sake of a daughter's ears, Jenny did have the courtesy to edit out the sexual banter.

"He. Did. Not!" Kelly shouted, sitting back in her chair and rolling her eyes. She smiled and tilted her head back. Throwing the ring at Jenny. It was not at all what Kelly would have chosen, but Jenny was apparently head over heels for it.

"Jenny?" called Levi, peeking in the door. His face lit up and he dropped what he was holding. He shouted her name again and Kelly's eyes went wide.

"LEVI MICHAEL! Do not come in this house you're soaking—"

But Levi had already dashed through the living room, scrambled haphazardly over the couch, and jumped into Jenny, hugging her regardless of his sopping bathing suit and hair. She smiled and hugged him back, his short little form only reaching her hip.

"Awesome," growled Kelly, slumping into her chair with her arms folded.

"I taught Pterodactyl how to play fetch and he's real good at it. And also he knows how to shake and—"

"Psh," Jenny interrupted, crouching down—making sure her dress covered her—and blowing hair out of her face. "I have much more interesting information," she said. Kelly vaguely wondered why Jenny's voice of choice to speak to Levi with was an imitation of Jack Sparrow.

Levi looked skeptical. Jenny showed him her ring.

"Gunny gave me a diamond. He's going to marry me. Know what that means?"

"GRANPA IS NOT IN CHARGE ANYMORE!" screamed Levi, jumping up and then throwing his arms around Jenny's neck, soaking her all over again.

Kelly burst into laughter and Jenny snorted.

"Precisely, Levisauraus. I daresay I could not have put it better myself."

"Speaking of the king of this castle," Kelly mocked, giggling over Levi's oh-so-true remark. "Where _is_ Dad?"

"Ah," Jenny said, standing up and patting Levi's head. "Your father is drying off."

Kelly looked confused and gave Jenny a suspicious look, waiting for an explanation.

"He fell into the Potomac. Completely unavoidable," she said, deadpan. "Jethro simply and rather unfortunately ran into my ankle and happened to fail at not tripping."

"That is not how I remember it," growled Jethro, storming in the door. He didn't even have the restraint to look angry, or even pretend to look angry. Kelly covered her eyes for a minute, aware he would probably freak out if she cried, and then jumped up to him and hugged him, tightly.

"All right, Kelly?" he asked quietly.

She squeezed his shoulder and kissed his cheek too, smiling from ear to ear. She just nodded, knowing him well enough to understand that words were most of the time superfluous.

"Gunny, guess what? I taught Pterodactyl how to—" Levi started to scamper towards Jethro, retelling the same story, when Kelly grabbed his arm, scooped him up impressively, and halted him, glaring at the errant child.

"Excuse me, disobedient son of mine. Did you think I forgot your ignoring my direct order?"

"Yes," Levi answered honestly.

Jenny laughed as she slipped past them, reaching for the thick, damp material of Jethro's t-shirt. He put his hands on her waist and looked at her, his eyes on her crimson curls and the sharp light in her emerald eyes. The ends of her hair darkened with water slightly, and he could feel patches of water on her.

"Why are _you_ all wet?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

She cocked her head at him, parting her lips impishly.

"That's just what you do to me, Jethro," she growled playfully.

Kelly glared at her, pausing in her tussle with Levi.

"Okay. Didn't need to hear that, _Boss_," she said pointedly. She clicked her tongue and shook her head at them, groaning dramatically as Jethro pressed his lips to Jenny's with a grin, just to bug Kelly.

"Yeah, I'm definitely moving out. Perfect timing on my part, if you two are going to stand around and tongue each other—"

"God, I love your _mouth_, Jethro," Jenny moaned loudly, shooting a wicked smirk at Kelly.

"You've gotta be kidding me," she said, looking quite appropriately horrified.

"Moving out?" Jethro asked, his brow furrowing, completely distracted.

The two women looked at each other, and then at him.

"The little bird is leaving the nest," Jenny announced.

Jethro glared.

"We'll talk over dinner, Dad," Kelly said airily, smacking Levi on the bottom as she pointed down the hall insistently at him. "We're going out. Somewhere nice, to celebrate," she announced matter-of-factly, chasing Levi down the hall.

Jenny turned to Jethro. He glared at her. She smirked and rested her hand on his chest, flaunting the ring. He plunged his hand into her hair and wrapped his strong arm around her waist, lifting her around his waist again.

She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him hard, figuring they had a few seconds before Kelly barged back in whining for them to get off each other.

* * *

"…and then Mommy told me you were going to dump Gunny because of the big fight about his socks and I said—"

"Honey, be quiet, Jenny's trying to go down the stairs," Kelly interrupted, rolling her eyes and attempting to drag Levi down the hall to his bedroom and sheepishly avoiding her father's eyes.

Jenny smirked. Levi's chatter faded as she followed Jethro down the familiar basement stairs, skipping the last step to jump the concrete floor in a clatter of heels. She paused, resting her hand on the banister.

The basement was curiously empty, except for the last part of the boat that had yet to be removed. The bulky shell was gone, all sanded and painted, and now only the hub of it remained, waiting to be placed with the rest of it.

"Are you gonna give the ring back before you dump me?" Jethro drawled, turning from the counter where he'd already portioned out the necessary mason jars of bourbon.

She inclined her head, glancing up at the ceiling where Levi's quick, hyper footsteps could be heard pattering across the floor.

"I distinctly remember being facetious when I told Kelly that," she murmured, glancing at him. "Wasn't aware she was a gossip. Though the fact that somehow every single pair of your socks ended up at my house and in my laundry basket was almost a deal breaker."

Jethro snorted and held out her mason jar. She came forward and took it with a nod, her fingers brushing his. She took a sip, licking her lips and looking over at the dark, pristine wood of part of the boat.

They had been at the marina today, at the dock he'd rented for the boat, checking it out. The rest of her was with the truck in the driveway, waiting to be completely finished. It had been interesting getting it out. It had been odd to see it finished.

It had hardly taken any time at all, after Levi had been hurt back in October. It was hard to believe, for her, that it had been nearly six months since that accident, much less a year since Kelly joined NCIS.

"She's moving out," muttered Jethro, glaring up at the ceiling. It was so strange. She had barely moved out the first time before coming back, and now he just couldn't imagine a house without Kelly.

"Or so you believe," Jenny said casually. "She had told you she's voluntarily moving out be in reality, the new evil stepmother is sending her to boarding school." She gave him a completely serious look.

He smirked and tipped his jar against hers, toasting the information.

"House'll be empty," he muttered.

"I might drop in once in a while, you know," she replied sarcastically, taking another drink of her bourbon. He set his down on the counter and reached for her waist, giving her a devilish look. She held the jar against her chest and smirked at him, her tongue between her teeth.

"You know what no Kelly means?" she murmured.

"Sex," he answered immediately.

She narrowed her eyes.

"I think not, Mr. Gibbs; quite the opposite. Marriage is the end-all of sexual activity," she mocked, deadpan.

"Mmm," he muttered, pushing her hair back and kissing her jaw languidly. "Lies," he growled.

He pressed his lips against her ear and her temple. Jenny laughed and tilted her head back.

"We can have sex on the dining room table for all little miss Kelly will care," she murmured.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked at her. She raised her brows and took a small sip of the bourbon, tilting her head at him.

Jen had softened around the edges since Levi's accident. Or rather, since a few weeks after Levi's accident. Their relationship had hit the rocks for a while and he'd backed off instead of trying to find out what the problem was. But she'd needed him at Christmas and things had been better ever since.

The boat had been a different story. He had just found himself working on it more and more since Kelly had flippantly referred to Jenny as her mother so she could see Levi with them. He'd painted Shannon's name on it on a whim, and after that, it had just seemed easier to be with Jenny.

Almost like his way of letting Shannon rest in peace, which Kelly had jokingly remarked was probably a godsend for Shannon.

"Here," Jenny said, pushing her jar against Jethro's chest. She looked up at him and bit her lip, studying his expression. "Dutch courage," she murmured, disentangling herself from him. She turned away and walked towards the hub of the boat slowly.

"I need you to nail something for me," she said, resting her hand on the boat and crouching down a little.

He was smart enough not to make a suggestive remark and turned around to the toolbox, rummaging around for a hammer and the nails she asked for.

He heard a quiet jingle.

Jenny slipped her late husband's dog tags over her head and ran her thumb over the charred lettering. She compressed her lips and hung the chain on a nail, fitting it snugly around the head.

Jethro walked over and watched her press the dog tag into the wood. She held her hand over it an looked up at Jethro, pointing to the necklace and then at his hammer.

"Fair enough," she said with a shrug. "You let go of Shannon. Only room for two people in a marriage."

Jethro smiled and nudged her out of the way. He expertly nailed Jim's dog tags to the boat. Then he placed the hammer on top of it and stood up. Jenny leaned against the boat and let her hair tumble over her shoulder, looking at him.

He leaned forward against the boat as well, and gave a small smile.

"I want you to marry me in July," she said.

"Anything you want, Jen," he answered, reaching for her diamond-clad hand and running his hand over hers. She flexed her fingers and looked down, then glancing up at him through her lashes.

"Contrary to tradition, I will not be wearing white."

"Why?" he asked slowly.

She looked at him seriously.

"I am aware that what I am about to say may shock you; it maybe be almost unbelievable: I am not a virgin."

Jethro laughed and she smirked. He shrugged. She could wear white if she wanted to; he didn't care. He was willing to bet if Kelly ever got married she'd be all over the classic white dress, and Shannon had refused to wear anything but alabaster.

He pushed off the boat and walked around behind Jenny, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on her shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug. He breathed her in, still hard pressed to believe he could ever love someone as much as he'd loved Shannon.

"I love you, Jethro," she murmured.

He kissed her cheek.

"Damn good thing to hear," he growled. "That 'until death do us part' law? No loopholes."

* * *

_I'm interested in a one-shot about the sock fight. Maybe that will appear. Who knows. Oh...and... *awwww*  
-Alexandra_


	14. Epilogue

_A/N: I am seriously sad to see this end. I thank you for remaining with me through my very first NCIS/Jibbs AU. I am almost positive it will not be the last. _

* * *

Jennifer Gibbs smirked as she rolled over in bed and ended the call on her blackberry silently, placing the phone gently back on the bedside table. She stretched and shifted over, sitting up and giving her peacefully sleeping husband a sympathetic look.

Then she whacked him in the back of his silver head.

"Jethro," she sing-songed, scooting closer and crowding up to him, peering down at him. He twitched and she knew he was awake and duly ignoring her.

She rubbed her hand over his bicep and threw one of her legs over his, pressing her lips to his shoulder.

"Jethro," she called again. "I know you're worn out, Casanova, but wake up," she ordered.

Jethro shoved his face into his pillow and groaned, swatting Jenny's hands away from him. She laughed and ran her fingers through his hair, kicking him in the calf insistently.

"This better be good, Jen," he growled.

"It is," she answered mildly, lifting her brow. She sat up a little more and started dragging him onto his back.

"I mean, sex better be involved, Jenny."

"It…sort of is," she replied with a smirk. Jethro grunted and opened his eyes, looking at her sleepily and suspiciously. "Not for you, though," she said.

He closed his eyes and rolled over. Jenny rolled her eyes, laughed, and leaned over and flicked him in the ear, pressing her lips to the same spot to soothe it.

"Kelly and Tim are about to become parents," she whispered.

Jethro jerked around and looked at her, practically dragging them both out of bed.

"You could've just said that," he growled, throwing the covers off and getting out of bed. Jenny turned around and fumbled the bedside lamp on, smiling as she watched him finding boxers, jeans, and a t-shirt to throw on.

"I wanted to break it to you nice and easy," she responded, pushing the covers off herself and seeking out her own panties and bra.

"What hospital?" he asked.

"George Washington University," Jenny answered. Jethro nodded, holding car keys in his teeth as he buckled a belt on. "You ready?" he asked.

"Not unless you want the waiting room to get a strip show," she retorted, shoving him out of the way to get to her drawer. He grinned and grabbed her around the waist, kissing her neck swiftly.

"You can give the doctor a lap dance and get us back faster," he mocked.

She punched his shoulder, rolled her eyes, and threw on a blouse.

"Give me a minute, Jethro," she soothed, and started pushing him out.

She yawned and flicked on the light as she shut him out, glancing at the glowing clock on the dresser that informed her it was three a.m. Apparently stepdaughters didn't wait to have their babies at convenient hours, even if their stepmother had just returned from a ten day conference in Paris and spent her jetlagged, exhausted first night home making up her absence to one very needy husband.

Jenny sort of made her hair look decent, swept on a bit of lipstick and mascara, and went down the hall in search of shoes, attempting to slip them on and pull her peace coat over her shoulders while Jethro breathed down her neck.

Jenny rolled her eyes, flipped her hair out of her collar, and reached for the keys. Jethro just glared at her and wrenched open the door, holding them above her head.

"You're freaking out, Jethro," she pointed out, walking down the slightly icy front steps. "Don't crash the damn car again."

"I'm not freaking out," he grumbled, jerking his truck's door open.

She laughed sarcastically and buckled in, shaking her head.

"Shannon must have kicked you out when she was having Kelly," she teased.

"She did not," muttered Jethro sheepishly. Jenny shot him a triumphant look and grinned, reaching over to rest her hand on his knee as he backed out and headed for George Washington University Hospital.

* * *

Timothy McGee was pacing rhythmically when Jethro stormed into the waiting room. Jenny gave her husband and indulgent look and sauntered in behind him, giving poor Tim a sympathetic look as Jethro marched up to him.

"Why aren't you in there with your wife?" he barked.

Tim stopped defensively and looked at him with wide eyes.

"I—she—she kicked me out!" he protested shrilly.

Jenny pouted her lips and clicked her tongue, taking Jethro's elbow and pulling him back gently.

"What did you do?" Jethro demanded threateningly.

"Nothing!" Tim insisted. Jethro narrowed his eyes. "I…I uh, told her she looked pretty?"

Jethro sighed, and shook his head.

"You're an idiot," he told him, clapping him on the shoulder fondly all the same.

"It's snowing outside?" Tim asked nervously, looking at the flecks of it peppering Jenny's hair and sprinkled all over her coat. Jenny nodded, smiling at Tim mildly. He nodded as well. "Oh. It looks, uh, pretty in your hair, Jenny."

"Hey," Jethro growled, glaring at Tim like he'd lost his mind. Jenny laughed. "What the hell, son?"

"I'm sorry! I'm nervous!" Tim whined, blushing red. Jethro glared at him and Tim fidgeted, glancing back down the hall and then at them both. He scratched the back of his head.

"So, uh, how was the Security conference, Director?" Tim muttered, obviously trying to facilitate small talk.

Jenny inclined her head. She shrugged. Tim looked over her shoulder and groaned suddenly.

"DAD!" came an excited scream. "JENNY! GUNNY!"

Before Jenny could turn around, Levi crashed into her legs, hugging her swiftly and then scampering into the midst of them.

"Abs! I told you to wait until we called!" Tim cried in exasperation.

Abby came shuffling up to them in her customary platforms, pigtails swinging in excitement.

"I couldn't wait, Timmy! Neither could Levi, we wanted to see the mini McGee right away!"

"Why is everybody so excited about Mommy's baby? It's just a baby," Levi informed them and yanked Jenny's arm insistently. "I missed you, Jenny. So did Gunny, but he told mommy he didn't except he did because he came over a lot and laid on the floor and played with Pterodactyl and mommy said he just didn't know how to—"

Jenny interrupted Levi's stream of words with a laugh, glancing up at Jethro's glare with an amused smirk. She crouched down and hugged Levi, kissing his forehead.

"You're getting quite a few people in trouble, motor mouth," she said, chucking him under the chin.

Levi giggled turned to Tim.

"Dad, Abby told me I never had to go to bed again."

"Uh, she lied," Tim muttered, glaring at the Goth. She shrugged happily and attack-hugged Jenny, and then Jethro in turn, beaming excitedly.

"Mr. McGee?" a nurse peeked out of a room down the hall and shouted Tim's name brightly.

He whipped around, pretty much ignoring whatever Levi had started to say to him.

"Kelly wants you back," the nurse informed, opening the door wider and gesturing inside.

"Can I come too? I want to see Mom," Levi said.

"Stay here," Tim said distractedly, running down the hall.

"HEY!" Levi shouted, stomping his foot.

"Honey, you're not old enough to go in there," Jenny soothed.

"I'm _seven_," Levi informed her with a glare. "Mom and Dad like the baby better," he said, folding his arms.

"Nonsense," Jenny rolled her eyes and ruffled his long hair playfully. "Which parents just bought you a new bike?" she asked, raising a brow at him. He giggled. Levi pushed through Jenny and Jethro and returned to Abby, asking her a question, continuing a conversation that had been started in Abby's hearse.

Jenny stepped up to Jethro and shoved her head into his shoulder, stifling a yawn in his coat and sighing dramatically.

She was glad she'd returned from Paris in time for Kelly and Tim to have the baby. She had missed home, and missed Jethro. Paris had been nothing the second time around; she spent most of the conference dwelling in memories of her honeymoon.

It came with the promotion, though. Being offered the Director's job three months ago had hardly been expected, but she'd taken it. Partly because she was done with the adrenal, suicidal tendencies that had drawn her to field work and partly because she'd had enough close calls with bullets recently to give Jethro a massive heart attack.

"Aha, the party started without us!"

"Abby called the team," Levi announced. Jethro looked down at Jenny, thinking of the reaction Kelly would have to that. They looked over to see tony bounding in, followed by a groggy Kate and finally, Ducky.

"Is the wittle Pwobie a father yet?" Tony asked loudly, looking around eagerly.

"Duh, DiNutso," Levi piped up, glaring at Tony. Jethro smirked at the trademark Gibbs glare and Tony backtracked, reminded that Tim had adopted Levi soon after he'd married Kelly.

"Yeah, you know what I mean, kiddo. Is he a baby daddy yet?"

"Not yet!" Abby squealed, bouncing over to Kate and hugging her for good measure. Kate yawned tiredly and leaned on Abby.

"Dad is not a probie anymore," Levi informed Tony defensively. "He has your job now, 'member?" he asked pointedly.

Tony frowned at Levi. He was always trying to bust Tony's big, child-like bubble.

"Who brought the kid to the ER?" he asked, looking up and around.

"I'm sure Abigail did," Ducky said good-naturedly. "She was the on-call babysitter, after all."

Abby beamed and pecked Ducky on the cheek, nodding.

"Where's yours, Kate?" Abby asked brightly, looking at the sleep-deprived woman in front of them.

"Elle's at home with Stan," she mumbled. "Tony's loud, uncalled for answering machine message woke them both up."

"Well, sorry, Katie, but I knew you'd want to know your best friend was having an infant!" Tony retorted.

"Do you know how hard it is to get a sick toddler to sleep?" Kate shouted at him.

"Oh, now, children," Ducky broke int. "Let's stay on good terms, eh?" he suggested, looking around at all of them.

"Elle has chicken pox," Levi informed Jenny solemnly.

"Ah," Jenny winced and gave Kate a sympathetic look.

"How was Paris?" Kate asked Jenny.

Jenny rolled her eyes. They thought it was a vacation or something.

"HEY!"

The group turned towards Tim's loud, excited shout. He walked up to them, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets, and smiled, looking at them. He paused, creating suspense, until Jethro glared at him rudely enough to make him drop dead.

"It's a girl," he announced.

Abby screamed and launched herself at him, hugging him until he turned blue.

"Pay up, Kate," Tony ordered, turning to Kate with a leer.

She grumbled, smiling a little herself, and reached for her pocket.

"Don't be shy with the details, Timothy," Ducky said over the din, quieting everyone a little.

Tim smiled and pushed Abby away, holding up his hands.

"She's, uh, she's seven pounds, four ounces. Seventeen inches long," he said, beaming. "Perfectly healthy."

Jethro smiled and looked over Tim's shoulder down the hall. Jenny reached up and put her arm around his shoulders, hugging him.

"Let's go," he said, kissing her cheek and taking her hand gently. He started past Tim without a second thought and the people with them all moved forward at once.

"Whoa!" Tim shouted, holding up both hands. "She's tired. She's also really, really pissed off at me and I kind of don't know why. Only," he pointed to Jenny and Jethro, "them. For right now."

Abby deflated and stomped her foot at him, displeased. He shrugged, as if to say he was sorry, and turned, beckoning to Jenny and Jethro. Jenny shot a superior look over her shoulder at her colleagues.

"The perks of being Director," she remarked.

"And sleeping with the father," Tony retorted. Kate elbowed him. Good to see some things would never change. For once, though, Jenny made no sound walking down the hall. She was wearing tennis shoes.

Tim walked right in, and Jethro touched Jenny's shoulder before they followed, drawing her attention away from the infant fussing they could already hear. She turned to him, smiling softly. She knew he was wary of her feelings. She had, in private with him, reacted rather negatively to Kelly's good news.

He smiled and let her go, shutting the door behind him.

Kelly definitely looked like she'd just had a baby, but he wasn't stupid enough to make that remark. He remembered being there when she'd had Levi, and considered how different it was this time around, particularly when he saw Tim trying to help her quiet the baby.

"Timothy, remove your hand," she snapped at him.

"She's holding my finger!" Tim protested.

"I know what I am doing, Tim!" Kelly growled. Jenny laughed, and Tim looked up, giving them a sheepish look.

"Daddy," Kelly said warmly, looking up at him. Tim put his hand on his daughter's head and she quieted, her jerky, kicking movements stopping. Kelly looked at the baby in mild surprise and up at Tim.

"Not bad," she complimented, turning back to her father. "Piece of cake the second time 'round," she remarked.

Jethro snorted and approached the bed, placing his hands on the rail as he leaned against it, looking down at his new granddaughter. She looked the same as all other babies when they were born. She had wisps of dark brown hair.

"She's lovely, Kelly," Jenny said quietly, reaching to touch the baby's foot through the blanket.

Kelly smiled and leaned her head back tiredly, yawning. She looked down at the baby and reinforced her grip on her, covering her with the soft pink blanket.

"She have a name yet?" Jethro asked gruffly.

"Tim didn't tell you?" murmured Kelly, shooting a mild glare at her husband. Jethro snorted. Poor McGee really was getting thrown under the bus right now. Jethro shook his head, waiting to hear it. Kelly gave him a look.

"Really, like you don't know?" she asked skeptically. He just glared at her. She gave Jenny a pointed look and Jenny obliged Kelly but hitting Jethro in the back of the head.

"Ow," he said slowly, giving her a glare as well.

"Her name's Shannon," Tim relented, taking pity on Jethro.

Kelly smiled and looked up at Jethro.

"Shannon Abigail," she agreed.

"Oh," was all Jethro said, reaching down to touch the baby. He let her curl her fingers around his and blinked.

"You softie," Jenny accused, poking him in the ribs; She pulled up a chair and looked at Kelly neutrally, perching on the edge of it. "You are hogging your child," she informed her.

Kelly smiled and nodded to Jethro, letting him expertly take the baby from her and hand her off to Jenny. Jenny bit her lip and held Shannon against her snugly, resting her left hand on the baby's stomach.

Kelly gave Jethro a hesitant look and he just returned one that told her to let Jenny be for a minute.

"I guess we should call Abs and let her bring Levi," Kelly said, turning to Tim thoughtfully.

"Uh," Tim looked up at Jethro and he shrugged.

"Hey, guys," Abby announced herself, hissing at them and poking her head in the door. "Levi wants to see his sister."

"Oh, I see," Kelly said, giving McGee a look. "You don't follow my orders at all, Tim," she said.

"I didn't-!" but then he just stopped, glaring at her. Kelly laughed at him good-naturedly and nodded to Abby.

"Send in the munchkin," she agreed. Abby opened the door and Levi scampered in, looking around for a minute before he bounded to Kelly's bed and climbed up, crawling towards her and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

Abby slipped back out, opting to wait until the actual family members were all done being introduced and settling down. Levi plopped down next to Kelly and glanced between his mother and Tim expectantly.

"I thought you had a baby," he said.

Kelly pointed to Jenny.

Levi lunged across the bed—or tried to; Kelly caught him and sat him back down.

"Careful," she whispered, glancing at Jethro.

"Jen," he said, reaching for Shannon. Jenny swallowed and let him take the little girl from her, leaning on the arm of the chair. Tim stood up and reached for his daughter, taking her from Jethro and drawing Levi's attention to the other side of the room.

"She's itty-bitty," Levi announced loudly.

Jethro put his hand on Jenny's shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Yeah, but she'll grow," Tim said.

Shannon sneezed.

"I like her," Levi announced, reaching into the blankets.

Jenny turned her face into Jethro's arm for a minute and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and then smiled. He wished it wasn't so hard on her. He knew she was happy for Kelly, but he also knew being surrounded kids—Kate's, Kelly's, and now another one—was difficult when she had lost Peter.

There had been, almost six months ago, an accidental pregnancy that had ended in miscarriage before she even knew about it after she'd taken a nasty fall chasing a suspect. Just one of the reasons that had contributed to her decision accepting the Director's position.

"I have a question," Levi announced, looking at Kelly with a furrowed brow. Jenny glanced over, stroking Jethro's hand absently, her other propped delicately under her chin.

"Big surprise," Kelly muttered, looking expectantly at her son.

"Where did Shannon come from? Because I didn't see any storks. And I don't know why we had to come to the hospital to get her."

"Tim, your son is asking you a question," Kelly retorted immediately, smiling wickedly at him and turning towards Jenny and Jethro.

"Well, uh. Um, well, Levi…"

Jenny laughed as she heard the young man start stammering uncontrollably and flush bright red.

"How was Paris?" Kelly asked eagerly, lowering her voice.

Jenny raised her eyes to the ceiling and sighed, giving Kelly a look through her lashes.

"My God, you're all so nosy," Jenny remarked.

"We're jealous!" Kelly informed her. "First Daddy takes you to Paris, then work orders you there."

"I can certainly you tell you it was less than satisfactory the second time," she mumbled, and Jethro smirked arrogantly. "Spent every damn morning throwing up," she explained.

Kelly's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh?" she asked lightly.

Jethro looked at Jenny sharply.

"Jen?" he asked forcefully, studying her emerald eyes.

"I am not sure, Jethro," she said practically, and a smirk flitted across her lips. "After all, Cowboy, you're a little old to accomplish knocking a girl up…"

Jethro crouched down and grabbed her shoulders, kissing her roughly, in front of Kelly and Tim and Levi.

Kelly laughed and settled back against her pillows, closing her eyes sleepily.

"Steal my thunder, why don't you," she scoffed mildly.

Jethro hugged Jen tightly. She'd be fine this time.

His gut was telling him they were done with bad luck.

_The End_

_

* * *

_

_I do not apologize for the cliche-ness. 1st because I didn't think it was cliche and 2nd because I liked it:)  
-Alexandra_


End file.
